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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23327704">A Midnight Opera</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnderZeWeather/pseuds/UnderZeWeather'>UnderZeWeather</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Voltron: Legendary Defender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Political conspiracy, Vampire AU, different vampire clans, everyone is a vampire, mystery virus</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-03-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 05:43:43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>69,428</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23327704</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnderZeWeather/pseuds/UnderZeWeather</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The city of Arus has been thriving for centuries, not by the hands of humans, but by the undead hands of the vampires that carefully guide them. These vampires do not wish to kill the mortals around them, but hide among them to live out their undead lives in peace. However, this becomes increasingly difficult when a new blood disease starts spreading through the community. Rumors spread as the clans start casting suspicion on each other. To keep the peace a team made up of several different clans is formed to get to the bottom of this disease to see what brought about such sickness to their fellow kindred.  </p>
<p>However, this investigation leads the team to start questioning each other's motivations and uncovering very personal secrets as they are forced further down the rabbit hole.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Adam/Curtis/Shiro (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>726</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>134</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Night meeting</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>I really should be finishing my other fics, but I am a disaster and have decided to post this instead. Also, a quick little disclaimer, I have gone and played Vampire the Masquerade quite a lot and used a lot of clans/terminology from that game, but I have also made up my own stuff as well to better fit the narrative. Hopefully anyone that loves that game can forgive me for changing things of getting some details wrong (like Shiro's clan not actually existing within the game's universe, but I needed to do something damn it because I couldn't see him fitting with anyone else). Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Within the city of Arus there was a beautiful and old opera house. From the outside one could have mistaken it for a church due to its Gothic structure, if not for the posters tacked to the front door labeling it as the Miskatonic Opera house. Its design was ornate and grand, standing out on a plot of land in the middle of the older part of the city. </p>
<p>When a grand opera came to the city it was always done there, but during the off season it was rented out to the public or for architecture and art students to marvel at. It would also be rented out for private functions, like tonight. Tonight there would be around forty guests coming to this theatre for a private function.</p>
<p>Keith was one such person, though he didn’t want to go. He thought his brother, Shiro, would have just taken Adam as his plus one, but apparently Adam got his own separate invite so Keith  was brought along for this circus.</p>
<p>It was almost ten in the evening and the trio were about a block away from the old building, but Keith just wasn’t feeling it. “You know, I’m just going to feel weird going to this thing…” He said. “I’m just gonna be sitting there and then leaving the second we’re allowed to go…”</p>
<p>“This is important.” Said Shiro. “You know, you really should do this. The more you know about the ins and outs the better fit you will be to survive in this world.” Adam nodded in agreement so that was the end of the conversation. If the two lovers were in agreement then there was nothing he could do about it… Unless...</p>
<p>“Shiro! Adam!” A dark skinned man quickly went over and hugged them both tightly before kissing them on their cheeks. “I didn’t know if you guys would show up or not.”</p>
<p>This was Keith’s chance. He quickly turned around and started to quickly walk down the sidewalk. With any luck the triad would be too wrapped up in each other’s company they wouldn’t notice him running off.</p>
<p>Adam laughed and kissed the man’s cheek. “Curtis, we told you we both had invitations. You’re my plus one and Keith is Shiro’s plus one.”</p>
<p>“... Where is he?” Asked Curtis.</p>
<p>“Keith!” Called Shiro. “Get back here!”</p>
<p>Keith grumbled and walked back to the group and shoved his hands into his pockets. He really just wanted to go home and maybe sleep for once. However this wasn’t going to happen and Keith was led to the Opera house. Standing at the door was a well dressed man with a bright orange moustache. He was checking the invitations before he let anyone in.</p>
<p>When it was their turn to enter the theatre the man looked at their invitations with a judgemental eyes. “Hmmm…” He said. “Let’s see… So you are?”</p>
<p>“Takashi Shirogane of the Andeddohantā clan.”</p>
<p>The man nodded and handed it back to him. “Alright. It all checks out. It’s been a while since we’ve had someone of your calabar set up shop in Auras and…” He sighed and broke into a small fit of giggles. “I’m sorry. I just, being professional all the time is so stifling. Good to see you again Shiro.” </p>
<p>“Good to see you too Coran.” Shiro put his hand on Keith’s back and lightly pushed him towards Coran. “This is Keith.”</p>
<p>“Ah the infamous Keith.” Said Coran. “Good to finally meet you. Shiro has mentioned you several times. Hope you enjoy your evening.” He looked at the line of people starting to look a little impatient. “Now run along, I have a few more invitations to check.”</p>
<p>Shiro said something about saving a seat if he can for Adam and Curtis before quickly ushering Keith inside with his hands pressed firmly against his shoulder so he couldn’t quickly run off again. It annoyed Keith. He wasn’t a child. He wouldn’t run away like that… today…</p>
<p>There were already several people sitting in their seats quietly talking amongst themselves. Keith could recognise a few of them, but he didn’t really care to know that much about them. They weren’t really in his life and Keith stuck to himself. Then again he had only moved to Aurs for a few months ago.</p>
<p>Soon Adam and Curtis joined them and happily talked for a few minutes before the lights in the room dimmed and a spotlight hit the stage. Everyone went quiet as a beautiful woman with long white hair walked onto the stage. Her voice projected well enough around the hall that she didn’t need a microphone.</p>
<p>“Welcome one and all to another meeting. I am thankful you were all able to make it. I, Princess Allura of the Venture clan, extend this setting as a meeting grounds for diplomacy and not a declaration of war.”</p>
<p>The way she loved her hands as she talked didn’t sit well with Keith. He didn’t like it. It was like she was putting them all under a spell. It was very unsettling. But then again Keith would expect nothing less from the Vampire Princess. For centuries now she had been leading the vampire society within Aurs. Apparently it was her family that had founded Aurs and slowly grew it until it was the vampire haven it was today.</p>
<p>Keith had to admit that she was doing a commendable job. She had managed to find peace for several vampire clans and everyone seemed happy enough to stick to the rules to keep the humans in the city none the wiser of their existence. When the four of them first came to the city they had to seek Allura’s permission to stay. She was happy to do so as long as they followed a few simple rules;</p>
<p>
  <em>No turning humans without direct permission</em><br/>
<em>No murdering humans unless said human is at risk of finding out about the existence of vampires</em><br/>
<em>No feeding from children</em><br/>
<em>Ghouls have rights too. You make them you feed them</em><br/>
<em>All cases of savaging must be contained and eliminated with extreme prejudice</em>
</p>
<p>“Now first things first…” She said. “Since the last meeting there has been a truce over the turf war between the Brujah and the Malkavian. We do not have to worry about any of our numbers dropping or our clans shrinking.” There was a positive murmur among the crowd. It was around then that Keith tuned out.</p>
<p>He had some string in his pocket and started to make some patterns and different loops. It entertained him for a little while until Shiro lightly nudged his side and whispered for him to pay attention. Keith rolled his eyes but paid attention to Allura.</p>
<p>“And now the last point before this evening’s end.” She said in her sugary sweet voice. “This is quite a serious matter and I need you all to take this seriously. Many of the Brujah, Gangrel, and Nosferatu have started to get sick in the city’s slums. While most of us might brush it off as a them problem-” her saying that seemed to rile up a quarter of the audience in attendance. “-but! I say this not only as your Princess, but as your kindred… We must stop this now. I have been informed that the last and most extreme symptom to this sickness is savaging.”</p>
<p>Hearing that made everyone freeze up a little before drasting murmuring spread through the crowd. Her words weren’t meant to scare anyone, but it caused everyone to panic to varying degrees.</p>
<p>Allura raised her hand to calm the restless crowd. “Everyone, I know this can be difficult, but we believe this might be another blood borne disease. Please, for the next few months advise your clans to screen your food or at least limit how much you feed. You don’t need to over indulge. We need to find the source of this illness as soon as possible.” There were a few angry mutters among the vampires. “I will be assembling a task force made from several vampires from different clans to sort this matter out. That is all for tonight. I thank you for attending.”</p>
<p>When she said that and left the stage the vampires quickly left the opera house. Keith wanted to leave too but Shiro stopped him. “We’re staying to talk to the Princess.”</p>
<p>“What? Why?”</p>
<p>“There is a reason I really wanted you here.”</p>
<p>Keith quickly became agitated and wanted to leave. Especially since Adam and Curtis had left too. “Nope. I’m done. Goodbye. Not meeting up with royalty. I’m going home.”</p>
<p>“No you’re not.” Said Shiro sternly. “She asked for me to bring you here.”</p>
<p>“... Fine.”</p>
<p>He waited around as more vampires left until there were only a small group of them left. Allura had moved so she was sitting on the edge of the stage and gestured for the remaining vampires to come forward to the front seats. When they were all gathered around she smiled brightly at them.</p>
<p>“Thank you so much for accepting my invitation to become part of the task force. I decided on all of you because of your ties to your clan along with your standing with humans within your community. Please, introduce yourselves.” </p>
<p>A small vampire that might have been a girl, though Keith was unsure spoke up first. “Well, I’m Katie, aka Pidge. You can all call me Pidge. I’m from the Tremere clan, formally known as the Pyramid. I’m from the house of Ipsissimus.”</p>
<p>Allura smiled and nodded towards a large dark skinned man who was wearing a bandanna. “Oh um, hi…” He said. “I’m Hunk. I’m from the Brujah clan. I um… We aren’t as complicated as the Tremere clan so like, no houses…”</p>
<p>The next to speak was a young and flamboyant looking man wearing expensive dark blue clothes. “Lance McClain. Toreador. I know, hold your applause. I am amazing. You can’t photoshop perfection like this. Probably the first time you’ve seen one of my clan up close.”</p>
<p>Keith wanted to gouge his eyes out. Toreador’s were some of the most self centered vampires in existence. Vampires that went mad obsessing over beauty and perfection. He had heard stories of them going mad looking at their own reflection for decades at a time. Brujah’s and Tremere’s were okay as far as he was concerned.</p>
<p>Shiro cleared his throat. “Well, I am Shiro. I am from the Andeddohantā clan.”</p>
<p>He patted Keith’s back in an attempt to get him to talk. “I’m Keith… I’m technically part of the Gangrel clan but for reasons I am technically a ward to the Andeddohantā…” That raised a few eyebrows from the other vampires, bar Allura and Coran. Keith was pretty sure that Shiro had let them know about his complicated undead situation.</p>
<p>Allura simply clapped her hands. “Well, as you know I am Allura from the Ventrue clan. Now as you may have guessed I want you five to investigate the strange savaging cases. I will explain more tomorrow night at my personal penthouse at hotel Altea. Are there any objections?” With no objections Allura gave them her room number and a time to be there. After that they were free to go.</p>
<p>Keith was happy with that and wanted to get the hell out of there, but Pidge stopped him. “Hold on there Gangrel.” She took out her phone and held it up. “Give me your number so I can get you in on our group chat.”</p>
<p>“... Why?”</p>
<p>“I’ll give you his number.” Said Shiro. He quickly talked with Pidge and took their phone from them and quickly put both their numbers in.</p>
<p>Pidge nodded and took her phone back. “Thanks.” They quickly turned around and ran over to Hunk and Lance. “Yo assholes! Give me your numbers!”</p>
<p>While that was happening Keith managed to slip away and headed out to where Adam and Curtis were waiting. They perked up when they saw him. Though they were probably waiting for Shiro to show up behind him.</p>
<p>“How did the meeting go?” Asked Curtis.</p>
<p>“Not every night the Vampire Princess asks for people like us.” Said Adam.</p>
<p>Keith rolled his eyes. “Well you two are Andeddohantā. I’m Gangrel… Shiro will be out in a bit… I’m going to go and feed before he decides we all need to do something as a family.”</p>
<p>“He only insists on it because he loves you.” Reminded Adam. “You’re his brother. By blood no less.”</p>
<p>Curtis rolled his eyes and lightly nudged Adam. “You know, being a vampire that doesn’t hold much weight.” He smiled kindly at Keith. “Go on. Get out of here before Shiro comes back and gets all moody.”</p>
<p>“Thanks Curtis. You're my favourite.” Said Keith before he quickly took off down the street. He heard Adam letting out an indignant cry as he escaped. Keith didn’t really care though. He just wanted to get the heck out of there.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Keith had already picked out one of his favourite places in the city; Balmera park. It was ridiculously huge and beautiful. It was so full of life and things that kind of reminded him of his life before he became undead… It was kind of depressing. He wasn’t too sure how long he was alive for, but he knew he hadn’t been to his home for what felt like hundreds of years.</p>
<p>He sat on the edge of a stone bridge and looked down at the water. His mind was slowly starting to get filled with dark thoughts of his past. Becoming a vampire was not a calming experience for most. They called it the Embrace. Embracing the darkness or something all snooty like that. Keith’s Embrace was painful and violent. He was pretty sure he vomited  and almost choked on it, if he was still breaking he probably would have died.</p>
<p>Suddenly his phone started buzzing. He was thankful that he now had a distraction to pull him out of his spiral. He assumed it was going to be Shiro, but it wasn’t. It was a group chat.</p>
<p>
  <strong>11:23pm</strong><br/>
<em>Pidge created a chat</em><br/>
<em>Pidge added Lance, Hunk, Keith, and Shiro</em><br/>
<em>Pidge renamed chat to Ankle Biters</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Lance;</strong><br/>
<em>Excuse me? I am not an ankle biter! Change it! Change it now!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Pidge;</strong><br/>
<em>Fight be thespian.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Hunk;</strong><br/>
<em>Come on guys. Please don’t blow up my phone with fighting. I get enough drama at work.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Lance:</strong><br/>
<em>??? Where do you work? Where do most vampires work?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Hunk;</strong><br/>
<em>Oh! I work the night shift at the Lionheart hospital. If you knock on the backdoor I can sell you a blood pack :) </em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Lance;</strong><br/>
<em>... You guys buy your blood? You don’t like, go to parties or get it yourself???</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Pidge;</strong><br/>
<em>Guys! Guys! Guys! I found it! I found the elitist asshole!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Lance;</strong><br/>
<em>I’ve never had to buy blood in my life! I have a whole line of young, sexy things more than willing to let me drink some of their beautiful blood.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Shiro;</strong><br/>
<em>There are many reasons vampires buy blood. Sometimes you can’t find someone. Sometimes it’s just a bad hunting season. Sometimes it’s just bad luck. You never know.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Keith;</strong><br/>
<em>He’s right.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Hunk;</strong><br/>
<em>Shiro’s right.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Pidge;</strong><br/>
<em>Lance is a blue blood.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Lance;</strong><br/>
<em>Cut me some slack! I don’t know much about other clans other than what I learned from my sire! I’m just going off of what she said. Please don’t hate me! :(</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Keith;</strong><br/>
<em>Beg</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Lance;</strong><br/>
<em>Um, I don’t do begging. At least take me out to dinner first ;)</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Pidge;</strong><br/>
<em>Ew. I regret making this chat. I’m going to go to sleep early tonight.</em><br/>
<em>Pidge renamed Ankle Biters to Buy Blood</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Lance;</strong><br/>
<em>Same. I need my beauty sleep. See you all at the Princess’s place tomorrow.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Hunk;</strong><br/>
<em>Okay. Sleep well. Are you two going to go to sleep?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Shiro;</strong><br/>
<em>Not for a few hours. I have things I need to do. Also, Keith, get your ass back home. Don’t make me look for you!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Keith;</strong><br/>
<em>K</em>
</p>
<p>Keith sighed and slipped his phone back into his pocket. He didn’t really want to go back home right now, but when Shiro told him to go home he had to. He got off the bridge and started the walk back to their apartment.</p>
<p>They had gotten a three bedroom place which was a vast improvement from the last place the four of them got. Adam got pissed off by how small it was and decided to sleep in the closet. He hissed at everyone that opened it. Shiro and Curtis got the bed and Keith slept on the couch.</p>
<p>It didn’t take too long for him to get back to their apartment. It was in a decent enough part of the city. Keith just climbed up the fire escape and knocked on the window. A few seconds later Curtis opened it and let Keith climb in. At the table Adam and Shiro were ripping open bloodpacks and happily drinking.</p>
<p>“Thanks.” Keith walked over and went to see what was left for him. “... Any AB+?” Adam passed him a pack. Keith quickly took it and bit into it. He drained it in a matter of seconds and sighed happily. It had been a few days since they had been able to feed. “So any reason you needed me to be home Shiro?”</p>
<p>“We don’t eat together as a family enough.”</p>
<p>Keith rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I’m going to be reading in my room. Don’t forget to put those blackout curtains up. Don’t need any of you getting burned in your sleep.” Before Shiro could say anything, Keith went back to his room and picked up one of the few books he kept with him from his travels. He’d end up reading until Shiro or Adam would remind him to go to bed at day break.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. The Penthouse</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Have you guys ever looked into vampire myths? It's pretty neat. Apparently before Europeans found vampire bats they also associated wolves with vampires and not just werewolves. Vampires could apparently turn into a whole lot of other animals like snakes and cats. The more you know. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hotel Altea was beautiful. The crown jewel in Arus city. It was made of white marble and glass that looked like crystals. Maybe aquamarine? Keith wasn’t too sure. It sure was pretty though. He and Shiro entered the lobby at around nine at night. They walked up to the front desk. The woman there smiled pleasantly enough at them and asked if they needed any help</p>
<p>“Yes.” Said Shiro as he took out a piece of paper. He had written down the room number on it. “Allura is expecting us. Penthouse 6? I think?”</p>
<p>The person just nodded and picked up the phone. “One moment please. Can I get your names?”</p>
<p>“Shiro and Keith.”</p>
<p>They nodded and quickly called the penthouse. “Hello again Miss Allura. This is Jullia at the front desk. You have two guests requesting access to your room… Yes there are two of them… Shiro and Keith I believe… Yes of course. I will send them right up. May I ask if that is all you will be expecting this evening? … I see. I will let them arrive when they get here. Have a good evening.” They hung up and stood up. “Let me show you to the elevator. The penthouse has a personal elevator that can only be accessed with a key card and code.”</p>
<p>The two vampires followed Jullia to an elevator hidden behind a gold and marble partition. There wasn’t an up or down button on them like a normal elevator. There was just a number pad. She quickly punched in the code and the doors opened up. She gestured for them to step inside and once they did, she swiped her access card against the card reader inside and pressed the button to the penthouse.</p>
<p>She got out of the elevator and smiled happily at them. “Enjoy your evening gentlemen.”</p>
<p>The doors closed and the elevator started to move up. Keith sighed a little as he shoved his hands into his pockets. He didn’t like this. Keith would rather be back at the apartment pretending to be a family with Curtis and Adam then here.</p>
<p>“You want to leave, don’t you?” Asked Shiro.</p>
<p>“Yes. I need out. Now.”</p>
<p>“It’s not so ba-”</p>
<p>“Does Allura know?” Hissed Keith. “Does she know about how I became a vampire? Vampire royalty kills vampires like me.”</p>
<p>“This isn’t the fifteenth century anymore.” Said Shiro. “Besides, if she tried to do anything to you, I’d stop her. You know that, right?”</p>
<p>“... Yeah.”</p>
<p>The elevator doors opened up right in the entryway of Allura’s penthouse. Coran was right by the door and smiled happily at them. “Good to see you again boys. Lance and Allura are at the bar enjoying some drinks.”</p>
<p>Coran gestured for them to follow. Keith felt like he should have been surprised, but he wasn’t when he saw that there was a literal bar in Allura’s home. With bar stools and everything. Allura looked just as regal as ever while Lance… For some reason he was covered in glitter and was wearing pants so tight they were practically painted on.</p>
<p>Allura smiled when she saw them. “Good to see you two made it. Pidge and Hunk should be here shortly. Would you care for a drink? I have a variety of alcohols, blood, both animal and human, and a few other things.”</p>
<p>“Do you have any sake?” Asked Shiro.</p>
<p>Coran quickly ducked behind the bar. “One moment. While I’m at it, what would you like, Keith?”</p>
<p>“I’ll take the same as Shiro.”</p>
<p>The moustached man nodded and quickly poured both men a drink. “I’ll leave the bottle out for you two… You know, I once met a very nice vampire when I was traveling through Japan in the 1870’s…” He started to go off on his story and Keith quickly downed his drink before pouring himself another.</p>
<p>He felt the cold, blue eyes of Lance on him. He glared at the other vampire. This just seemed to make Lance smirk. Which pissed Keith off. “What?” Growled Keith.</p>
<p>“I expected you to be more of a whisky drinker.”</p>
<p>“And considering how you look I’d expect you to be drinking something white, not red.”</p>
<p>Lance snorted and laughed as he looked down at what he was wearing. “Yeah, I guess what I’m wearing is a bit flamboyant. Guess I should just be greatful you didn’t call me queer or drop that f slur.”</p>
<p>Keith raised an eyebrow at him. “Um, why would I do that?”</p>
<p>The other vampire rolled his eyes. “Come on. Those clothes. That haircut. That name. Clearly you got embraced around the 1980’s. Prime time for mullets and that grungy look.”</p>
<p>“... I was embraced during the Goryeo period when the Mongol invasions of Korea began.”</p>
<p>Nothing he said seemed to stick to Lance if his blank expression meant anything. “That was a while ago huh?”</p>
<p>Keith wanted to slap this vampire. “The Fifth Crusade was just starting up.”</p>
<p>That seemed to click with the other vampire. His eyes went wide and his jaw dropped. “Holy crow! You’re ancient! What were the wars like? Who were you backing? The Muslims or the Christians?”</p>
<p>“... I was in Korea. I didn’t even know that war was going on until I was told about it centuries later.” This vampire was thicker than two bricks.</p>
<p>Lance pouted and drank his wine. “Well excuse me for getting curious… Man, I can’t believe you got embraced earlier than me… Like I got embraced by my sire around the 1860s.” Keith drank some more sake and hoped that Lance would shut the fuck up. However his indifferent silence seemed to be Lance’s cue to continue. “I was traveling all over Europe at the time. It was so much fun.” Keith decided that he deserved the whole sake bottle and attempted to snatch it away before Shiro took it to refill his cup. He wasn’t fast enough. “I had an awesome act too. A real show stopper. Everyone always gasped in awe at what I could do. So my act was-”</p>
<p>The phone rang and Allura quickly excused herself to answer it. She talked to Jullia at the front desk for a moment before she hung up with a smile on her face. “Hunk and Pidge are here and will be up in a moment.”</p>
<p>When they got to the penthouse Coran got them drinks and the group retired to Allura’s dining room. They took their seats and Keith was thankful that Lance had decided to sit by Hunk and Pidge.</p>
<p>Allura cleared her throat and took on a much more authoritative tone. “Thank you all for coming here. Now as I told you yesterday I would like to inform you all more in detail about this strange illness… I have strong reason to believe this might be manufactured by one of the more elite clans to shift the balance of power in Arus and steal it away from my family.”</p>
<p>“And what reason is that?” Asked Keith.</p>
<p>“Throughout history when the upper crust of society starts becoming discontent with their lot in life and demand more, they start to stir up trouble in the larger, poorer population.” Said Allura calmly. “The Brujah are one of the most prominent clans in the city, but they are also one of the least structured and are generally worse off than most clans, apart from the Nosferatu. No offence Hunk.”</p>
<p>“None taken.”</p>
<p>“There have been talks about some of the more elite vampires not liking my leadership.” She glanced over at Lance.</p>
<p>Lance grinned and winked at her. “You know I’ve always got your back Princess.”</p>
<p>Keith raised an eyebrow at that. It seemed like Lance was a personal spy for the Princess. Perhaps he actually had some skills besides being annoying. That was still up for debate though. He still looked pretty stupid.</p>
<p>Allura smiled a little at him. “So, with this viral blood infection happening, along with some of the elite have been talking, and how it’s affecting the more disadvantaged clans, it gives me reason to believe that someone might be conspiring against me to overthrow me.”</p>
<p>“And what?” Asked Pidge. “You want us to find the vampire doing this and take them out?”</p>
<p>Allura seemed surprised before she laughed. “What? No. I just need you all to find the source of the infected blood and eliminate it while finding out who put this plan into motion. Once you do I will personally eliminate them and make an example of them. Make people understand that I will never, ever tolerate treason.”</p>
<p>Keith had to admire her. The princess knew when she needed to be diplomatic, and when to be a vampire. After all, she was a vampire first and a princess second. It was kind of nice to see this side of her. However, Keith wanted out of this.</p>
<p>The Princess clapped her hands together, now, the reason why I chose all of you. Shiro, I think it is obvious. Your clan literally translates to undead killer, correct?”</p>
<p>Shiro shrugged. “Something like that.”</p>
<p>Keith rolled his eyes. That was an understatement of the year. Shiro’s clan was both revered and reviled for their skills. They were a clan of vampires that had dedicated their entire undead lives to finding and killing other vampires. They were a necessary evil within their kind. They stopped the vampire population from exploding and as a result, made sure everyone had more than enough food. Over time they had rolled back their “kill all vampire” motto and changed it to “kill all savaging vampires” instead. They were still not very welcomed by most other clans.</p>
<p>She nodded and gestured to Pidge. “Pidge, you are one of the brightest vampires in the city. You have excelled when it comes to human electronics. Most vampires are still not very versed, but if there is any electronic information out there you can find it.”</p>
<p>Pidge smirked and adjusted her glasses. “Some vampires don’t even know what a firewall is.”</p>
<p>“Lance,” said Allura. “Is well intermingled with the most elite of vampire society. He knows everyone and everything out there and can sweet talk information from anyone he pleases.”</p>
<p>“What can I say?” Asked Lance. “It’s my gift and my curse.”</p>
<p>“Hunk has very good standing with the Brujah and Nosferatu.” Said Allura. “Many, if not all, respect him and it will be easier to talk to him rather than most of us. They trust him as a voice of the people.”</p>
<p>Hunk’s face flushed red and he looked away. “Aw, you think too highly of me your highness.”</p>
<p>“Think nothing of it.” Said Allura. She then looked over at Keith. “And you, the Gangrel… The most feral and bestial of vampires. A clan that used to proudly shape shift into their most fearsome form of the wolf… Now constantly mistaken for our distant Lupine cousin… You’re more in tune with the feral nature of the beast and your ability to hunt your prey from a single drop of blood is just as legendary as your rage. Your skills are invaluable to this mission.”</p>
<p>“And what are we getting out of this?” Asked Pidge. Everyone looked at them. Pidge just shrugged and crossed their arms. “Look, I’m all for helping out my kindred, but I think we should receive more than just a pat on the back. We’re looking into a political conspiracy here and a blood disease that could kill us.”</p>
<p>“I fully agree.” Said Allura calmly. “We are vampires, and as such we all have desires that we cannot obtain for one reason or another. Be it because of our clans, our nature of being a vampire, or because our hearts desires are morally reprehensible. Which is why I will give you all the thing you desire the most in the world upon the task’s completion.”</p>
<p>Everyone stared at her in complete shock. Keith knew what he wanted, but he honestly didn’t think that was possible. There was no way Allura could do what she was saying for him, but maybe she could? The others didn’t seem like they believed her either. Keith wasn’t sure he believed her.</p>
<p>Allura just waved them off. “Don’t be concerned over what you seek. Be it revenge, money, a free pass to drain the blood of whoever you wish. I will give it to you or turn a blind eye to it. The most depraved and debautrious, sick and twisted, vile and unscrupulous things your sinful little vampire hearts desire, it is yours.”</p>
<p>“... Anything at all?” Asked Lance in a quiet voice. “You better not be messing with me Allura, because if you are I-”</p>
<p>“Even that.” Said Allura calmly. “You can go off and do that, then after you have done the deed you will be welcomed back to your clan with open arms like you were never gone to begin with.”</p>
<p>“... Okay, you sold me. I’m in.” Said Lance.</p>
<p>“Same.” Said Pidge in an oddly cold voice. “If you really can do what you say, then there’s no way I’ll turn you down.”</p>
<p>“I’ll do it.” Said Hunk. “I um… If I have your approval then no one can say anything against it…”</p>
<p>Shiro sighed a little as he thought this over. “... You know, even if you can’t grant my wish I’d still be in on this, right? Killing the undead is what I do. What my clan has done even before we first became vampires.”</p>
<p>Now Keith felt obligated since everyone was in, even Shiro. “Ditto.”</p>
<p>Allura was beaming at this point. “Excellent. Now I would appreciate a report back from you lot once a week at minimum.” She rattled off a list of other small demands that she wanted from the other vampires. </p>
<p>After that the group started on a battle plan. Hunk, since he worked at the hospital suggested that they start there. He thought that if they could find the carrier through the blood donations he had access to they could find the source. Pidge and Shiro were going to go with him to access and cross reference the hospital’s database while Lance and Keith were apparently going to a party. Much to Keith’s annoyance.</p>
<p>He protested this because he wanted to go with Shiro if he had to go with anyone but Pidge quickly vetoed that idea because three people sneaking around a hospital was a bit of a stretch at the first place. They couldn’t have four. Plus someone with animal instincts might be helpful for picking out who is telling the truth or not. The group headed back down to the lobby, but Keith stayed back to talk to Allura.</p>
<p>Lance just rolled his eyes and told him to hurry up. “We’re going to a party, dog boy. Hurry up.”</p>
<p>Keith just rolled his eyes and went to talk to Allura. The Princess didn’t seem very surprised that he was still there. “I know what you want to ask me, and your answers are as follows; yes Shiro informed me of your odd embrace, no I do not care, yes it does benefit me, and yes I can give you what you want.”</p>
<p>“... And how do you know what I want?”</p>
<p>“All of those in your position want it.” Said Allura calmly. She held up the pendant of her necklace and let the moonlight gance across it. It was a large gold heart with a red jewel in it. “This is what you want, right? You want the blood inside this that makes the crystal red. Don’t you?”</p>
<p>Keith’s eyes were trained solely on the crystal. He had heard of it, but he didn’t think that she would just have it out in the open for everyone to see so blatantly like that. Anyone could just reach over and snatch it from her. </p>
<p>Without thinking, Keith made a grab for it, but before he even came close something grabbed him and flipped him onto his back. Keith was stunned as he looked up at Coran and Allura. The man was just shaking his head at him like he was a disappointed father.</p>
<p>“Really now? Trying to snatch away such an important heirloom like that away from the princess like it was nothing?” He asked. “You’re lucky I didn’t remove your whole arm.” Coran helped Keith up and gestured for him to go towards the elevator. “Now go on. Time to go. Allura gave you her answer. Get out of here.”</p>
<p>Keith glared at him but quickly retreated. He had completely forgotten about Coran being there. He still wasn’t sure what clan Coran was from, but he really surprised him. He got down to the lobby where he was immediately jumped by Lance.</p>
<p>“Finally! You took forever!”</p>
<p>“Get the fuck off me you glitter bitch!” Hissed Keith as he tried to push the other vampire off him.</p>
<p>Lance was surprisingly strong and Keith ended up having to drag himself out of the lobby. Jullia watched them from the front desk with a slightly amused look on her face. Keith glanced at her and hoped she would say something.</p>
<p>She smiled brightly at them when she caught his eye. “Enjoy your evening Mr McClain. Your cab is here.”</p>
<p>“Thanks Jullia.” Said Lance. “You’re the doll.” Lance pretty much tossed Keith into the waiting Taxi before he climbed in himself. He gave the driver the address and grinned happily at Keith.</p>
<p>Keith was glaring at him and had more than enough reason to punch him in the face and leave. “Why does this feel like you’re kidnapping me?”</p>
<p>“Oh hush up doggy. We’re going to a party.”</p>
<p>Keith would feel his eye twitch. “Lance, I am ten seconds away from breaking your fucking neck. I’m not a fucking dog!”</p>
<p>“Oh hush boo. You’re a dog and-”</p>
<p>Keith quickly cut him off by grabbing his throat and squeezing very, very hard. He pulled Lance close and growled into his ear. “I am a vampire. A vampire that doesn’t play well with others. I have been killing vampires for longer than you have been alive. If you want to keep your head on your shoulders you are going to shut the fuck up right now. Got it?” Lance quickly gave Keith a thumbs up and Keith let him go.</p>
<p>Lance pouted like a child and rubbed his throat. “Wow, you’re really grumpy… Guess you don’t want to know how to survive this party.”</p>
<p>“Go fuck yourself.”</p>
<p>Lance pouted some more. “Should have argued for Shiro to come with me instead…”</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Up in the penthouse Allura played with her pendant while drinking a cup of blood. She was pleased with how the night’s events had gone. Everything was set in motion and her chosen kindred had spread their wings and taken flight. Even if she had to sweeten the deal a little.</p>
<p>Coran didn’t seem very pleased about this and voiced as much as he cleaned the glasses in the bar area. “Allura, I know you wanted to motivate them, but to promise them those things… What if you can’t deliver?”</p>
<p>Allura shrugged. “I will do what I can and do what I must to ensure that my reign will not fall. This city is mine. I will not let it fall to anyone.”</p>
<p>“Do you have an idea of who might be doing this? If it is a conspiracy against you that is?” He asked.</p>
<p>“I have a few ideas…” She swirled her blood around in her glass a few times. “Obviously there is Zarkon or Haggar. They are the most likely candidates, but I need concrete evidence before I can go after anyone. They will riot if I start murdering vampires left and right.”</p>
<p>“I know… I hope this turns out alright.”</p>
<p>“I’m sure it will. I have faith in my subjects.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Parties and blood banks</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Just the two groups getting information and trying to get along with each other since they were all forced into this situation... Guess which group has an easier time than the other? Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Lance ended up taking Keith to another fancy looking hotel. The two of them got out of the taxi and Lance happily gestured to the gargoyle decorated building. He grinned at Keith and pointed up at a window where come colourful lights were coming from</p>
<p>“We’re going up there.”</p>
<p>“... I’m going for a walk.” Keith turned to walk down the street when Lance grabbed his arm. A ballsy move considering that Keith almost crushed his neck a few minutes earlier.</p>
<p>“Nope. You’re coming with me.” Said Lance. “I want to see if you can detect anything from these people.”</p>
<p>“Detect? Like what?”</p>
<p>Lance shrugged. “I want what you’re made of.” He walked towards the doors and gestured for him to follow. “Come on. We’re just going to be here for about an hour. Consider this a little test.”</p>
<p>“No.”</p>
<p>Now it was Lance’s turn to glare at him. “Look. Allura has always kept her promises to me. If she says she’ll give me what I want if we do this then she will do it. You’re not going to ruin this chance for me. So get inside. Now.”</p>
<p>Keith galred back at him, but reluctantly went inside. He wondered what Lance wanted that badly. He didn’t know what a vein and frivolous thing Lance would want so badly, but from what little he knew about this vampire, it was probably something stupid like a diamond butt plug.</p>
<p>As they walked up the stairs, Lance started to talk about where they were exactly. “So like, might look like a hotel, but this is the main hub of my clan. The Toreador. Our clan leader is Luxia. Depending on what she’s doing she may or may not be here tonight. Also, most of the Toreador’s are female. Most of the males are ghouls that they have turned.”</p>
<p>“So, what?” Asked Keith. “You want me to pretend I’m a ghoul?”</p>
<p>“Nah, everyone knows Allura likes me.” Said Lance. “I’ll just say that she’s being overly protective again and managed to convince you to be my bodyguard.” He grinned and winked at him. “Now you can be a good little guard dog and look after me.”</p>
<p>“... I am going to murder you.”</p>
<p>“Aw, now don’t you go and threaten me with a good time.” Cooed Lance. He got to a door and happily opened it. Music poured out of the room, making Keith’s ears hurt. Lance didn’t seem affected at all as he happily walked in, throwing his hands up in the air. “I’m back bitches!”</p>
<p>There was an ungodly squeal as Lance got yanked inside. Keith cautiously looked in and saw Lance on a large couch with several female vampires surrounding him. He looked right at home with the three vampire ladies surrounding him. One of the women looked over at Keith and then back at Lance, giving him a confused look.</p>
<p>Lance smiled and gestured to him. “Ladies, this is Keith. Keith, this is Nyma, Florona, and Plaxum. Keith here, is a Gangrel.”</p>
<p>“Spooky.” Said the red headed one. She hummed a little and rested her head against Lance’s shoulder. “Didn’t think there would be one of you guys around…”</p>
<p>“Don’t get fleas everywhere.” Muttered a blonde vampire who had her hair in pigtails. </p>
<p>Lance rolled his eyes and lightly slapped her arm. “Nyam, be nice.”</p>
<p>Nyma just rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Don’t let him sit on the couch. He’ll shed all over the couch.”</p>
<p>The other girl, sitting next to the red headed girl, gave Nyma an unamused look. “You know he’s a vampire right? Not a real lycanthrope.” She looked over at Keith and nodded over to the kitchen area. “You can get something to drink there if you feel like it.”</p>
<p>“Thanks.” Keith quickly escaped to the kitchen and left the vampires to themselves. With a drink in hand, Keith stood back and watched the vampires and their ghouls mingle.</p>
<p>Lance was right when he said that most of the vampires in this clan were female. They were all tall and skinny with very striking features. The male vampires looked similar to women; thin and fragile looking. But Keith knew better. A vampire that looked so pretty and innocent was very deadly and thrived. They could lure so many humans in with their looks and hypnotise them into submission with just a few sweet words and then they were getting drained of their sweet blood.</p>
<p>The ghouls that walked around were mostly male and much more muscular than them. Keith never understood vampires that made ghouls. They were practically almost vampires but considerably weaker. They could stay awake for up to three days without rest and could run errands for the sire’s during the day. Their health, speed and strength was vastly improved for a human, but still pitiful for a vampire.</p>
<p>A ghoul seemed to be hovering around Nyma. Possibly her ghoul. The process for becoming a ghoul was similar to a vampire, but at the same time it wasn’t. It was a lot more complicated than what some people would think. Lance seemed like the kind of vampire that would have a few ghouls at his beck and call. He seemed narcissistic enough.</p>
<p>Suddenly the doors opened and a woman in a black and white mermaid tail dress walked in. Immediately everyone’s eyes were on her. Even Keith had to look at her. He’d seen her face in billboards and magazines around the city. She had to have been a model.</p>
<p>The woman looked around the room and her eyes fell on Keith. Immediately she glided across the room towards him. “Who are you?” She asked. “What are you doing here in my clan’s home?”</p>
<p>“Your clan?”</p>
<p>The woman’s eyes narrowed as she glared at him. “You…”</p>
<p>Lance quickly walked over to them. “Luxia! How wonderful to see you again. I wasn’t sure if you would make it tonight. I heard you had a different party to go to?”</p>
<p>Luxia shrugged. “I wanted to come home. I haven’t been drinking as much blood as I normally do lately and I felt like resting in my own home.”</p>
<p>“Understandable.” Lance gently patted Keith’s arm. “So, this is Keith. I invited him over. Yeah, I know. Should have asked you first, but Allura signed him to me.”</p>
<p>“Assigned him to you?”</p>
<p>Lance nodded and lied like it was as natural as breathing. “Oh yes. You know how Allura gets. She gets slightly paranoid and then she ropes some poor sap that owes her a favour into looking out for me for a few months.”</p>
<p>Luxia sighed a little and snapped her fingers at the nearest ghoul. “A fresh glass, Now.” A ghoul quickly grabbed a glass of blood for her and handed it to her, bowing their head before quickly going back to their sire. She sighed and drank a mouthful. “That Allura… Always stirring up trouble one way or another…”</p>
<p>“But she does like me.” Reminded Lance. “Her like of me is very advantageous to us and our clan.”</p>
<p>“That is true.” Luxia smiled and gently ran her claw-like nails through Lance’s hair. “No one can resist you can they? My pretty little serpent.”</p>
<p>Lance preened under the attention she was giving him. “Yep. That’s me.” He said. “Your ever loyal serpent.”</p>
<p>Keith didn’t really know what to make of that. Did that mean Lance was acting as a double agent? He had a feeling that Lance was the kind of guy that would do whatever he could to get attention. This vampire probably fed off attention just as much as he did blood. He was pretty sure all these vampires that were attention whores.</p>
<p>She smiled at him and patted his head. “Yes you are. One of the best.” She glanced back over at Keith for a moment before she spoke to Lance again. “Next time you bring a boy home, bring home someone we can all nibble on.”</p>
<p>“Duly noted.” Said Lance. “Will do.”</p>
<p>“Good boy.” She gently cupped his face with one hand and gently stroked his cheek with her thumb. “Now go back and enjoy the party. I’m not going to hurt your friend.”</p>
<p>“Okay.” He walked back to the couch without a second thought and was quickly welcomed back by the women. Nyma even sat in his lap.</p>
<p>Keith just shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Fuck I wish I was home…”</p>
<p>“Not used to these kinds of things?” Asked Luxia in an amused tone. “Well even if you two don’t get along that well my little serpent is very entertaining.”</p>
<p>“And how did he earn that nickname?” Asked Keith.</p>
<p>She grinned, showing off her fangs. “Oh he got that little nickname from his human days. The human serpent was his stage name. His sire thought he was beautiful when he performed and well… The little brat embraced him without permission.” She grumbled. “Oh how I hate it when brats sire a fledgling without permission… Then again she was well on her way to making her own clan before she threw a tantrum. One of the many reasons why it’s discouraged to bring adolescent children into our world.”</p>
<p>“... How old was his sire?”</p>
<p>“She was over three hundred years at the time.” Said Luxia. “But physically she claimed to be thirteen.”</p>
<p>“Oh wow…”</p>
<p>“I know. Much too young. She wasn’t even born to vampire parents.” Luxia said with a grimace. “At least if she was born she would have aged yo until her late twenties to mid thirties before she stopped. Being embraced by the night does slow things down.”</p>
<p>“It does.” Muttered Keith. </p>
<p>Luxia hummed a little as she swirled her blood in her glass in an attempt to stop it from coagulating around the edges. Chunky blood, or as the more sophisticated said; blood clots, was gross. Most of the time anyway. There were some interesting things that that vampires have experimented with to make blood last longer and to disguise it.</p>
<p>“So tell me Keith…” She said quietly. “Who was your sire?”</p>
<p>“My sire?” Asked Keith. That was a very loaded question. “They kind of just bit me and ran.” </p>
<p>“Ah. How unfortunate.” She sniffed her blood and grimaced. “This seems a little old… Can’t get good ghouls these days…” She walked off to refill her own glass.</p>
<p>Keith relaxed a little and went back to observing everyone. Keith had come to the conclusion that this clan was full of narcissistic, self centered, assholes. He looked over at Lance and rolled his eyes when he saw him making out with Nyma with all the grace of a fish gulping air.</p>
<p>He took his phone out of his pocket and started texting Shiro very angry and hateful messages about being left with Lance. They weren’t even doing anything productive. Lance just wanted to get his dick wet.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Shiro chuckled as he read over the texts that Keith was sending him. Apparently he really hated working with Lance. Then again, Keith didn’t play well with others in general. The poor vampire did have a tendency to lose his temper quite easily. Though Shiro didn’t know if Keith was like this before or after his transformation.</p>
<p>“What are you looking at?” Asked Pidge from their position on the floor. They had hooked themselves up to one of the incredibly outdated workstations in the basement at the hospital. They had gone straight there after talking with Allura.</p>
<p>“Keith really dislikes Lance.” Said Shiro. “It’ll be a good test of patience for him.”</p>
<p>“Gangrel do tend to do what they want.” Said Pidge. “Kind of like the Brujah.”</p>
<p>“We aren’t that bad.” Whined Hunk as he watched the security monitors. “We just… We’re kind of chaotic and disorganised, but we don’t always do what we like. Most of us are smart enough to keep ourselves hidden from humans… Have you got what you need Pidge?”</p>
<p>“Down loading at the moment. Might take a while.”</p>
<p>“Okay… You guys can help yourselves to a blood pack if you like, but just one.”</p>
<p>“I’m good.” Said Shiro. “I ate last night.”</p>
<p>“I’m good for a while.” Said Pidge. “I’ve perfected the art of psychic feeding.” The two other vampires gave them a questioning look, so she elaborated. “It’s a form of feeding. Instead of drinking blood from a human or animal, we can feed off the mental energy from humans. It can be just as dangerous as drinking their blood. So like, you can usually catch me around collage libraries and stuff.”</p>
<p>“That’s pretty cool.” Said Hunk. “We’d all be pretty well off if we didn’t need to feed every other night.”</p>
<p>Shiro nodded in agreement. “It’s hard to keep four adult men fed.”</p>
<p>Hunk nodded. “Yeah… I usually get vampires trying to bed for more blood packs. They think I can just give it out. I have to ration it or people will start to think something’s happening…”</p>
<p>Shiro patted his back. “You’re doing really well. For centuries it’s been very difficult to keep blood for any longer than a day without refrigeration. You just keep doing what you are doing. You’re doing a good job.”</p>
<p>Hunk smiled a little at him. “Thanks man. That means a lot coming from one of you guys.”</p>
<p>Pidge groaned and hit her head against the wall. “Forty percent downloaded… I am going to rip out my eyes…”</p>
<p>“You’re pretty impatient aren’t you?” Asked Shiro. “I’m guessing you really want this to be over, huh?”</p>
<p>“Yep.” She slammed her fingers against the keyboard a few times before glancing up at them. “Don’t you guys want this to be over with? Isn’t the reason you became a vampire your heart’s desire?”</p>
<p>Hunk shrugged. “I was kind of ambushed when I first came to America. Came over because my uncle was here and I ended up getting attacked when I was on a ferry ride one evening and that was that.”</p>
<p>“My clan made a desperate and foolish agreement with one of the first kyuuketsuki in Japan.” Said Shiro.</p>
<p>“So you guys are after revenge right?” Asked Pidge. “You want revenge against the vampires that turned you?”</p>
<p>“The vampire that turned my clan is long gone.” Said Shiro. “My desire is for something else… It’s something I doubt Allura can give me, but I’m willing to see if she can.”</p>
<p>“I’m not that upset about being a vampire either.” Said Hunk. “I think the guy that turned me was desperate for blood… What about you Pidge? Do you want revenge against your sire?”</p>
<p>She snorted and adjusted her glasses. “Hardly. I told my sire I would murder them if thy didn’t turn me. I want revenge against a vampire, but not my sire… Okay! Got all the data I need. I can go over everything better at my apartment.”</p>
<p>“So we’re all good to go?” Asked Hunk. “I need to make sure you guys are out of here before the next guy starts his shift.”</p>
<p>Shiro nodded in agreement and the two of them nodded in agreement and quickly headed out the hospital backdoor. As soon as they stepped out Shiro walked right into a woman wearing a hoodie. She gasped and quickly jumped back, doing her best to keep her hoodie over her face.</p>
<p>“O-oh! I’m sorry.” She said quickly. “I um, I was just waiting for a friend. I-”</p>
<p>“Shay!” Hunk was quickly by her side with a few packs of blood. “What are you doing here? You know I don’t normally work these nights.”</p>
<p>“I-I know.” She said quickly. “My parents weren’t able to get any blood this week. They were starting to get desperate… I was hoping you were going to be here doing some overtime. I’m glad I was right.”</p>
<p>Hunk sighed and helped her put the blood packs into her bag. “You know you just have to give me a call and I’d be more than happy to give you and your family as much blood as you need. You guys have it hard enough as it is without everything that’s going on.”</p>
<p>“I know. Thank you.”</p>
<p>As they talked Shiro couldn’t help but notice the scars, callous’s and odd growths on Shay’s hands. The scars he could understand, but the other things weren’t normal afflictions that most vampires had, apart for one.</p>
<p>The two vampires ended their conversation with Shay quickly kissing Hunk on the cheek before she quickly ran off into the night. Hunk was blushing like crazy. A difficult feat to do for most vampires considering their low blood circulation since they were all technically dead.</p>
<p>“Is she your desire?” Asked Shiro. “You want to be with her?”</p>
<p>Hunk just blushed more and nervously rubbed the back of his head. “Well yeah… But you know how everyone is about cross clan romance and stuff…”</p>
<p>Pidge rolled her eyes. “Yeah, but a nosferatu? Seriously? No offence but nosferatu’s look like world war two plastic surgery survivors on a good day.”</p>
<p>“Hey! Shay is amazing.” Snapped Hunk. “She can’t help it if she’s a nosferatu. She’s one of the kindest, sweetest women I have ever met. Human or vampire.”</p>
<p>Pidge rolled her eyes and put her hands up. “Alright. Whatever man. I’m heading home. Text you all later if I find anything.” She walked off into the night without a second thought. Shiro did wonder how she was going to get home since the three of them ubered there. In fact, how was Shiro going to get him before dawn?</p>
<p>He looked over at Hunk and nervously laughed. “Um, so I have no idea how to get back…”</p>
<p>“You can come back to my house.” Said Hunk. “It’s not too far from here and if worst comes to worst you can just sleep on the couch, if that’s alright with you?”</p>
<p>“Sounds good.” Shiro followed Hunk and texted his lovers and Keith what was happening. Adam and Curtis were fine with him staying at another vampire’s place as long as he was safe during the day. Keith threatened his life and continued to text him about how he hated vampire parties and how dare Shiro have an easier time while he has to interact with people. Shiro still stood by the sentiment that Keith needed to practice patience.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Matchbox</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Okay, so first things first. In this fic Keith is Korean so I decided that Keith is is Anglo name (obviously) so I went and tried to pick a Korean name that I thought would be. I also attempted Korean honorifics but I'm not sure I used them correctly. If I didn't please correct me. I tried my best. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D</p>
<p>Hyung- Older brother/male figure of a male person<br/>Op-pa-  Older brother/male figure of a female person<br/>Seonsaeng- Teacher (similar to the Japanese honorific sensei)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The cicadas buzzed loudly in the heat of the Summer’s day. Sweat poured down the farmer’s brow as he sowed his soybean crop. In the distance he could hear the sound of farm animals and see some farmers off in the distance. It made him smile. He was almost done.</p>
<p>He heard some young voices running towards him or at least in his direction. He looked over at the children. They waved at them and they waved at him before they quickly came over. “Hyung! Op-pa!” They called.</p>
<p>The man chuckled and put his seed basket down just as one of the girls jumped forward and gave him a hug. “Hey there Ari. What are you doing here?”</p>
<p>The girl grinned up at him with her dirty cheeks. “Euijo found out that Seonsaeng Han-Gyeol is going to be serving fresh kimchi tonight! Fresh kimchi! You gotta come home soon!”</p>
<p>The boy with her, Euijo, nodded. “Yep, and they are making samgyetang!”</p>
<p>The farmer groaned and put his hand on his stomach. “You kids are making me hungry. I’ll be back home as soon as I can. I just need to water the soybeans and I’ll be right over to see if Seonsaeng needs anything else.” The children nodded, gave him a hug, and quickly ran off back to the village.</p>
<p>The farmer went back to sowing seeds. A few more villagers walked by and waved at him and he waved back. Their village was small and the kind of place where everyone knew everyone. Most of the children considered him as their big brother. Which was nice, considering the farmer was an orphan and had no family of his own.</p>
<p>He had ended up living in a shrine with a few other children around his age. When he started growing his own crops, most of which he gave back to the orphans at the shrine, he started becoming an integral part of the community. It was a simple life, but he was happy.</p>
<p>It was around ducks when he was finished sowing his seeds. He stretched his back and wiped the sweat off his brow when someone called his name. “Kogane Gippeum!”</p>
<p>He looked over at the man that called him and quickly walked over to him. The man that called him over was Han-Gyeol. The old man that was slightly hunched with a walking stick in one hand and a parasole of his own making. He was one at the shrine taking care of the children and even helped him get the money together to buy the field for his soybeans.</p>
<p>“Seonsaeng,” he said. “Do you need something?”</p>
<p>The old man smiled at him. “You’re a good kid. Are you going to eat dinner with the rest of us tonight? You never do.”</p>
<p>Gippeum shrugged. “I wouldn’t say never. I’ve been trying to get the field ready. Should be a good crop this year.”</p>
<p>Han-Gyeol nodded in agreement. “It will be.” He tapped Gippeum on the back of the thighs with his cane. “Come along now. I need a young man to help this old man fetch the makgeolli.”</p>
<p>“Planning to get drunk again? Probably not a good idea at your age.”</p>
<p>Han-Gyeol burst into a hearty laugh as he started to hobble down the road towards the village. “Probably, but a drink is a drink and I’ll be damned if a fledgling like yourself is gonna stop me from getting a drink.”</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Keith woke up in a cold sweat. Just when he thought he forgot his past his mind would force it back to the forefront of his mind. It had been centuries since he went by Korean name. He had gotten tired of stupid white people either not willing to pronounce it correctly or calling him racial slurs when he and Shiro first ventured West. So he just picked a name at random and it just kind of stuck. Not even Shiro called him Gippeum anymore.</p>
<p>He sighed and slowly got up to get ready for the night. Keith carefully peeled back the blackout curtain in his room. It was night. He pulled back the curtain fully and opened the window. He breathed in that stale, damp, smokey, city air. Gross.</p>
<p>He closed the window and changed into fresh clothes. Curtis and Adam were already awake and watching the evening news on the TV. Curtis offered him some tea that was laced with crushed iron supplements and flakes of animal blood. Just as good as coffee to a human.</p>
<p>Keith downed the lukewarm tea and sat on a chair in the lounge room by Adam. He noticed the distinct lack of one certain vampire. “Um, and where is Shiro?”</p>
<p>“Couldn’t get home last night.” Said Adam. “He stayed at some other vampire’s place. Remember?”</p>
<p>“Oh yeah…” Keith sighed and contemplated checking his phone. Then again he really didn’t want to do that. He’d have to deal with a bunch of stupid shit from the other vampires… And by other vampires he of course meant Lance.</p>
<p>Adam quickly picked up on his bad mood. “Alright. Spill the tea. What is going on?”</p>
<p>“Nothing.” He grumbled.</p>
<p>“That isn’t nothing.” Said Adam. He reached over and pulled Keith onto the couch and settled him between himself and Curtis. This made Keith growl and bare his teeth at them. Adam just rolled his eyes and lightly tapped his forehead. “None of that. Tell us what happened. Shiro’s already told us you two are doing special work for the Princess. What did you have to do last night?”</p>
<p>“... I went to a party.”</p>
<p>Adam rolled his eyes. “Oh how horrible. A party. Oh no. Whatever shall you do?”</p>
<p>“I went to a party thrown by a bunch of Toreadors.” Said Keith. “The Toreador I was with ended up just sucking face with other vampires the whole night! He just wanted to get his dick wet and to parade me around. It was awful.”</p>
<p>Curtis shrugged. “What can you expect from a Toreador? They are narcissistic and egocentric creatures. If you’re working with one of course they would want to parade you around like a prize.”</p>
<p>“It’s disgusting.” </p>
<p>“This is why we used to just murder vampires.” Said Adam. “Most vampires are so consumed by their own desires it’s just… I don’t even know… Kind of sucks that we stopped doing that.”</p>
<p>Curtis shrugged. “Well it did stop the clan wars. The last thing we needed was dozens of vampire clans deciding that we all need to die since we are the vampire killing vampire clan.”</p>
<p>“True.”</p>
<p>Keith pouted and quickly moved off the couch. “I’m going for a walk.”</p>
<p>“Don’t kill anyone while you’re out.” Called Curtis. “Be a good vampire and let us know if you happen to run into Shiro.”</p>
<p>Keith poked his tongue out as he headed to the door. “You’re not my sire.” </p>
<p>“Yeah, but Shiro is!” Called Adam.</p>
<p>“Nope!” Keith quickly went out the door and headed towards the park so he could be somewhere quiet for a while. As he walked he couldn’t help but reflect on his past as Kogane Gippeum the human and not Keith Kogane the vampire. His last days as Gippeum were happy and relatively carefree. Well as carefree as a humble soybean farmer could have been before the Mongols invaded.</p>
<p>He thought about when he first met Shiro. He was terrified. He was in a no win situation where everything would just result in death. In a strange, roundabout way, Shiro was technically his sire. The vampire that had embraced him and awoken the vampire within. Keith was the first vampire Shiro had sired. His clan only accepted people that proved that they would die for the greater good.</p>
<p>He shivered at that thought. He sometimes felt like he should have just died instead of reaching out for help. Shiro was a good man and a good sire, but after everything they had seen together and after all the things Keith had learned he sometimes wished he’d died that night.</p>
<p>Keith got back to the park and sat on the bridge. Still as quiet as ever. He liked it. If he could he would stay there all night. He wanted to leave the city soon, but the city had food. Lots of food. It was something they needed to survive. It was kind of depressing. His phone started making noise and Keith quickly checked it. It was a message from Shiro.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Shiro</strong><br/>
<em>Where are you?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Keith</strong><br/>
<em>Park. Why?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Shiro</strong><br/>
<em>Just want to let you know where you are.</em><br/>
<em>Are you going to do some hunting tonight? Curtis is going to hunt.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Keith</strong><br/>
<em>Mind your own business. I’m not hunting</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Shiro</strong><br/>
<em>Well if you aren’t hunting can you go to Pidge’s place? They have some information and I want you to see what she has.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Keith</strong><br/>
<em>What? Why can’t you go?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Shiro</strong><br/>
<em>Because I had a little sun accident at Hunk’s place and I have a nasty blister on my arm.</em><br/>
<em>Adam won’t let me leave until I heal.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Keith</strong><br/>
<em>Send me the address.</em>
</p>
<p>Shiro sent Keith the address and Keith started to walk. Shiro was still technically his sire and what he said goes. Though he didn’t really act like much of a sire. Keith didn’t really think that Shiro ever wanted to sire anyone, but the situation was just thrust upon him. Yet Shiro went ahead and properly sired Adam and Curtis after himself. It was bullshit.</p>
<p>Keith eventually got to the nondescript, apartment building in the suburbs. He hit the button and Pidge buzzed him in. When he went to her apartment on the third floor a man answered. They looked a lot like Pidge, but his hair was just a little longer and he had a thin scar on his face. </p>
<p>They grinned and quickly shook his hand. “You must be Keith right? Come on in. I’m Pidge’s brother. Matt.”</p>
<p>“Cool.” Keith walked in and saw Pidge sitting on the floor in the middle of the room with her laptop on the coffee table. Her face was discolored by the glow of the screen. </p>
<p>They looked up and nodded at him. “Sup? No Shiro?”</p>
<p>“He got a slight sunburn and one of his husbands wouldn’t let him leave.” Said Keith. “So is it just us or what?”</p>
<p>“I texted Hunk earlier.” Said Pidge. “Hunk has work tonight, and Lance-”</p>
<p>“Is here and fabulous!” Said Lance as he happily walked down the hallway. “But seriously, when was the last time you two cleaned the bathroom. I swear I saw a cockroach rave going on in your bathtub.”</p>
<p>“Why the fuck are you here?” Asked Keith.</p>
<p>Lance rolled his eyes and flopped onto the couch. “Because I was going over the lead we got last night with Pidge.”</p>
<p>“... What lead? You were busy sucking face!”</p>
<p>“First of all, that’s just how I roll.” Said Lance calmly. “Secondly, we got plenty of leads.” He took a matchbox out of his pocket and tossed it over to Keith. He caught it and looked at it. It was from some nightclub called Diabazzel. The nightclub in question was one of the few around the city that was run by vampires. He wasn’t too sure which clans ran said clubs, but he was sure that it was some of the more elite clans.</p>
<p>Keith put the matchbox on the table. “So you found some matches? Big deal.”</p>
<p>Lance pouted and crossed his arms. “I got more information than you.”</p>
<p>“Did not.”</p>
<p>“Did so.”</p>
<p>“Did not.”</p>
<p>“Did so.”</p>
<p>“You’re both stupid.” Said Pidge. “Now shut up… But Lance did get more information than you did.”</p>
<p>Keith rolled his eyes. “Okay, explain how this happened? How is a matchbox going to help us?”</p>
<p>Lance huffed. “Well if you would just let me explain…”</p>
<p>“Go ahead.”</p>
<p>Lance was pouting, but he explained why the matchbox was a good lead. “Okay, so most of the people from my clan usually go to the higher end joints to pick up people, but every now and then we need a little excitement and go to some of the seedier joints. The poorer areas. The stripclubs and streetcorners. Anything just for a little fun… So like, Nyma heard that a lot of the savaging cases happened around three specific clubs. All of which are owned in part by the sisters Honerva and Haggar. The two of them have been rumoured to be messing around with the leader of the local Gangrel clan.”</p>
<p>Keith was surprised to hear that Lance had figured all that out. He was also surprised to hear that there was a Gangrel clan in Arus. Gangrel tended to not like staying in clans that much. He had trouble staying around Shiro, Adam, and Curtis.</p>
<p>“There’s a Gangrel clan here?” He asked.</p>
<p>Lance shrugged. “There’s actually two Gangrel clans in Arus. The house of Galra and the house of Mamora. Zarkon is the leader of the house of Galra, and Kolivan is the leader of the house of Mamora.”</p>
<p>“Huh…”</p>
<p>Realization seemed to dawn on Lance’s face and he grinned. “You don’t know any of the clans around here, do you? Oh my god, you’re completely useless!” Lance started laughing while Keith went red with anger.</p>
<p>“I’ve only been here for a few months you asshole!”</p>
<p>Pidge rolled her eyes. “Calm down you two. Look, the lead is good. Not totally solid, but it is good. The three clubs are pretty far away from each other. There’s Purple Pit on the West side, deep in Brujah territory. Twin Moons on the East side right on the border of Brujah and Nosferatu territory. Finally there is the Wayward Wanderer. It’s in a no man’s land kind of territory, so it’s a free for all there… That’s not even mentioning the main club in the middle of the city; Diabazzel.”</p>
<p>“So what?” Asked Keith. “Someone’s spreading bad blood through the clubs? Dealing drugs to humans that poison their blood for vampires?”</p>
<p>“Could go way deeper than that.” Said Lance. “Going to go full conspiracy theory at the moment, Allura’s father, Alfor, was the vampire King for what seemed like forever, but Zarkon double crossed him and killed him with the help of Haggar and Honerva. Zarkon could be using them to spread the sickness through the larger clans through the other clubs.”</p>
<p>Keith hated to admit it, but that sounded reasonable in a conspiracy kind of way. “Yeah… And Zarkon’s trying to take over Arus so he can be the vampire King. Who knows what he would do to the human population at that rate? It could be a mass slaughter.”</p>
<p>“More than likely.” Said Pidge. “Not a lot of vampires are very keen on Allura’s no murdering rule. Hell, some vampires are a little annoyed they can only go after adults.” She typed away a bit more on her laptop and sighed. “Okay, looks like you guys might need to go on another fact finding mission. Lance, you’re on good terms with the management at Diabazzel, right?”</p>
<p>Lance took out his phone and grinned. “I’ll make a call now. Be back in a moment.” He got up and quickly walked down the hall to make his call.</p>
<p>Keith hated the idea of being anywhere with Lance again. He walked over to Pidge to see what she was looking at. It looked like hospital documents. There was also another window opened up with an artistic rendering of a vampire undergoing the final stages of a savaging.</p>
<p>After living as long as he had and traveling with Shiro, Keith had come across many vampires in full grips of a violent savaging. There was no coming back from that. It was a death sentence. The symptoms of savaging were pretty brutal and deformed a vampire even more than they already were. </p>
<p>Most vampires only experienced savaging if they had been deprived of blood for days on end and were starving. A starving vampire looked borderline anorexic. They looked like walking corpses with sunken and glazed over eyes, their gums receding to the point their fangs were always visible, unable to properly swallow which made them look like they had rabies. </p>
<p>If the physical effects were the extent, it wouldn’t have been that bad, but their minds slowly degraded to the point they would rip apart and attack anything that came close to them. They had no self preservation instincts anymore and would leap out to attack anything even in broad daylight. It didn’t matter how much their skin blistered and ruptured, they only cared about attacking everyone and everything around them.</p>
<p>“How many savagings have happened?” Asked Keith. “What are the symptoms before savaging?”</p>
<p>“So far there have been about twenty cases of savaging in the last three months.” Said Pidge. “Which is a major spike considering there have only ever been two cases every three or four decades in Arus.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, that’s bad.”</p>
<p>“Yep…” She continued to type away, quickly flickering between one documents and symbols. “So, I take it you don’t really like working with Lance?”</p>
<p>“He’s an asshole. Why?”</p>
<p>“He said he doesn’t like working with you much either.”</p>
<p>“... Oh?” Well at least the two of them could agree that they both thought the other was insufferable.</p>
<p>Pidge nodded. “Yep, but you know, this could really work to our advantage. You two could have a bit of a good cop, bad cop thing working for you. Should work out well if you get to talk to Honerva, or Haggar.”</p>
<p>“I guess… What clan are the sisters?”</p>
<p>Pidge shrugged. “No clue. I just know that they are really fucking influential. Honerva is a very strong business woman but she’s the nicer of the two. Haggar is a total psycho bitch. She straight up murders people.”</p>
<p>“Ah… I see.”</p>
<p>Lance happily walked back into the room with a forced swing to his hips. “And we’re in. Good news too, Honerva is in. We can talk to her tonight if we leave now.”</p>
<p>“Good. You two can get out of my house now.” Said Pidge quickly as she buried her face back into her laptop.</p>
<p>“Aw, you aren’t coming with us?” Asked Lance with a pout.</p>
<p>“I got shit to do here fancy pants.”</p>
<p>“My pants are not that fancy.” Pouted Lance.</p>
<p>“How much did you pay for those pants?”</p>
<p>“... I think they were about two hundred?”</p>
<p>Keith looked at Lance in shock. Lance’s pants cost more than his whole outfit. Pidge just rolled her eyes and gestured for them to leave. “Call yourselves and uber and get out. Text when you find something. I have work to do.”</p>
<p>Lance sighed and left the apartment, after saying goodbye to Matt. Keith also said goodbye to Pidge’s brother and headed down to the street with Lance. They stood in silence for a few minutes before Lance spoke up.</p>
<p>“Is it weird to spend two hundred on pants?”</p>
<p>“Yes.”</p>
<p>“Oh…” Lance looked down at his clothes and lightly picked at the threads on his shirt. “Really?”</p>
<p>“Yes. Really.”</p>
<p>Lance didn’t look very happy about this. “Have I really become that vein over the past few decades?”</p>
<p>Keith shrugged. “Wouldn’t know. Why? You think it’s a bad thing?”</p>
<p>“Well when I was a human I didn’t really grow up with much.” Said Lance. “Hell, I practically sold myself to a Freak Show to send all my money back home before I died.”</p>
<p>“... You were in a freak show?” Asked Keith in shock.</p>
<p>“Yep.”</p>
<p>“The first ones where they would show off people with weird skin conditions and birth deformities? The bearded lady and all that stuff?” Asked Keith in disbelief. He quickly looked Lance over and wondered what abnormality would have landed him in a freak show. Maybe he had a tattoo or something? Tattoos were a big draw back in the day.</p>
<p>Lance just laughed and grinned. “Yeah. We had a nice bearded lady, Amanda Whitman. She had a beard that would put most men to shame. We had a display case full of pickled punks, that’s a fetus in a jar. Siamese twins Anna and Joanna. Two sisters joined at the hip. Ivan, the strongest man in the world. Carl the iron eater, Lenny the six foot thirty year old and his wife Donna the half human. She was born without legs.”</p>
<p>“And what was your act?” Asked Keith. “Where did you fit into all of that?”</p>
<p>“I was the human serpent.” Said Lance. “I was a contortionist. For my act someone would take me out onto stage in a small suitcase, it was usually Ivan, and I’d slowly twist and turn and unfold myself. I’d get a lot of people gasping and freaking out. Which was fun… They are all dead now. I miss them.”</p>
<p>“They sounded like good people.”</p>
<p>“They were… Is there anyone you miss from when you were human?”</p>
<p>“... I was an orphan.” Said Keith. “Didn’t have a family much in the traditional sense… I used to grow stuff for the local orphanage…” He smiled sadly. “A lot of the children there used to call me hyung or op-pa…”</p>
<p>“Hyung?”</p>
<p>“They both mean older brother.” Said Keith. He sighed heavily. “I used to go back to where my village was every few decades when travel was possible… Can’t go back there anymore now.”</p>
<p>“Why not?”</p>
<p>“My village was in the country now known as North Korea.”</p>
<p>“Oh… That’s rough.”</p>
<p>“Yeah…”</p>
<p>The uber pulled up and Lance happily got in and talked to the driver. Keith just looked out the window and decided to angry text Shiro about being a pussy over a little sun blister and leaving him with Lance. How dare Shiro pussy out on this?</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Shiro glanced over at his phone and chuckled a little. Keith was once again blowing up his phone with angry texts while Adam was rubbing ointment into his blister. It wasn’t so bad. It was actually quite small compared to some of the other sub blisters he had gotten in the past. All vampires burned in the sun to various degreed. Some worse than others.</p>
<p>Shiro could spend a few minutes out in the sun before his body exploded in painful blisters and boils. Some would just burst into flames and skip the whole blistering stage. It all depended on the clan that they were from.</p>
<p>Adam sighed and wrapped up Shiro’s arm. “Now look, you need to be more careful. This could have ended pretty badly for you.”</p>
<p>“I told you it was an accident.” Said Shiro calmly. “Hunk didn’t know there was a hole in one of his curtains.”</p>
<p>“Still… I worry about you.” He leaned up and gently kissed Shiro’s cheek. “If you’re going to get injured it better be because of a fight and not because of nature.”</p>
<p>Shiro happily kissed back. “I’ll try, but  can’t make any promises.”</p>
<p>“I know… You’re going to end up leaving me and Curtis without a sire at this rate.”</p>
<p>“I know. I’m sorry.” He gently squeezed Adam’s hand. “I’m not going to do anything to hurt you if I can help it.”</p>
<p>Adam hummed a little and kissed Shiro’s cheek and down his neck. Shiro just hummed and ran his fingers through Adam’s hair. He gasped a little when he felt Adam nip his neck just hard enough to draw blood. Adam ran his tongue over the small bite mark and groaned in satisfaction.</p>
<p>“Adam…”</p>
<p>“What? Can’t I taste the blood of my sire?” Adam practically purred.</p>
<p>“Curtis will be back soon.”</p>
<p>“Then he can join us.” Said Adam. “And it’s not like Keith is going to be back anytime soon.”</p>
<p>“True… And it has been a while since we have done anything…”</p>
<p>Adam grinned and started kissing his neck again. “Come on Shiro. Take me to bed.” That was all the older vampire needed to hear before he took his lover to bed.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Favours for favours</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Keith and Lance meet up with Honerva... and well, Lance of course is a little shit. What else would he be? Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Club Diabazzel was always a popular spot for both vampires and humans alike. Many celebrities and the young socialites would flock there every night. There was a list and one couldn’t get in without being on the list. Keith had heard of it but knew he would be able to get in. He wasn’t from an elite clan like Lance.</p><p>Lance happily walked over to the bouncer, talked to them for a moment, and he happily linked his arm with Keith and dragged him in. Keith hated the pounding music. It hurt his ears and gave him a headache. The flashing lights weren’t doing him any favours either.</p><p>Keith let Lance pull him along to some bouncers standing by some stairs that lead to an office tucked away from everything. Lance happily bounced over to them and they let the two of them through.</p><p>Lance happily walked into the office on Honerva. Honerva looked like a typical business woman with her hair pinned back in a right bun. Before they could introduce themselves, Honerva put her hand up and continued to talk to herself. She looked like she had some bluetooth thing in her ear.</p><p>“Yes. No… I said no… Well, find him already!” She snapped. When she was done talking she looked over at them. “A, the wilted rose and a living yin yang.”</p><p>“He’s name is Keith.” Corrected Lance, seemingly ignoring the weird things that she called them. Maybe he was used to this? “Anyway, we’re here at the behest of Princess Allura.”</p><p>“Oh really?”</p><p>Lance nodded. “Yep. You’ve heard of the savaging cases? Most of them have cropped up around some clubs that you co own.”</p><p>Honerva rolled her eyes. “The snakes within the grass do nothing but tell lies. Sendak owns the Two where there should be one. Morvok in the pits of purple. Then the lost does wander in a wayward fashion.” </p><p>“...” Keith felt like his brain was about to melt. He knew exactly what kind of vampire Honerva was. She was a Malkavian. Also considered the most insane and unhinged of all the clans. Sure they had the gift of insight and could see the future, but they were pretty batshit insane. Looked like Honerva was going to be spitting riddles out at them for the whole time.</p><p>Lance just took it in his stride. “The lost? Who is the lost?”</p><p>Honerva got a sad look on her face. “My lost. The one I made. The one I cherish more than most.”</p><p>“A ghoul?”</p><p>Honerva scoffed. “A ghoul? A ghoul? Well I never! A ghoul? The wilted rose things the lost is a ghoul?”</p><p>Keith frowned as he watched her go ballistic over this. “Is it your baby?” He asked. “Is your child lost?” Lance looked at Keith like he was an idiot, but that was until Honerva started sobbing. </p><p>“My lost is lost. I want my lost to be my found. Can you find my lost?” She asked. “My lost has been gone for three full moons now… But that snake in the crystal castle must not know about my lost! Crystal can be shined up to look brand new, but crystal is old. It is ancient. It does not change easily. She will take my lost from me.”</p><p>Keith was super confused and kept looking over at Lance for help. Lance looked like he was really straining his brain to find out Honerva meant. “So… you don’t want Allura to know about your kid? Is that it?”</p><p>Honerva nodded. “The snake in crystal will not change her ways. She will protect her power by enforcing the old ways. Change is a danger to her crown. You should fear her most yin yang. The clan that flows through your veins is old but the conception was an abomination.”</p><p>Keith didn’t need a translation for this. He knew just what she meant and the implications scared him. He didn’t want to voice anything just in case he was wrong. If he was wrong and Honerva was just speaking nonsense then he didn’t want to out himself in front of Lance.</p><p>“Oh!” Said Lance in a tone that sounded like he had cracked the code. “Lotor’s half Malkavian and half Gangrel, right? That’s why you don’t want Allura to find out.”</p><p>Honerva nodded. “The snake finds out, the snake will strike… I can’t let that happen… Haggar will taunt and mock me if the lost is found only to die for punishment.”</p><p>“We’ll find him.” Said Keith.</p><p>“But we want stuff in return!” Said Lance quickly. “We want full cooperation from everyone at all the other clubs you co own. Do that and we’ll find Lotor and keep his bloodline a secret. No one will ever know.”</p><p>“Deal.” Said Honerva. “Find my lost and bring him here and all will help.”</p><p>Lance grinned and started to pull Keith out. “Awesome. See you later Honerva. Stay beautiful.” Keith was starting to hate how quickly he was getting used to Keith dragging him around. When they got outside Lance let out a long sigh. “Wow… Lotor’s a Malkavian Gangrel hybrid huh? That… Wow… I just thought he was an offshoot of my clan, but nope. Two different ones entirely.”</p><p>“Yeah…” This was making Keith uncomfortable.</p><p>“So… I’m pretty young in terms of being a vampire.” Said Lance. “Why aren’t we allowed to intermingle outside of our covens?”</p><p>Keith sighed. “Hybrids are a problem. They are a crapshoot. You either get something cool or something completely fucked… Gangrel breeding outside of Gangrel clans can make some really fucked up things… Gangrel shouldn’t breed outside of their clans. Hybrid Gangrel are crazy bastards…”</p><p>“But aren’t you a hybrid Gangrel?” Asked Lance. “Like, the way Honerva talked to you she could tell you were a hybrid since she said your clan blood in an abomination and all that.”</p><p>Keith quickly looked around, saw an empty alleyway, and grabbed Lance by the back of his neck, shoving him down there. He pinned Lance to the wall and growled at him, baring his fangs. “Listen here you bastard. Don’t you ever, and I mean fucking talk about me being a hybrid. You weren't alive when they went around and fucking lynched hybrids. Fucking ripped them out of their mother’s wombs and stomped on them in the street. That’s not even counting the human, vampire hybrids.”</p><p>For once Lance actually looked scared. “Whoa. Chill. I’m not going to say anything.”</p><p>“You better fucking now.” Growled Keith. “If I hear anyone even suggesting I’m a hybrid I will slaughter you.”</p><p>“O-okay… Can I ask what other clan you are though?”</p><p>Keith rolled his eyes and pushed Lance away. “Fuck off Lance. I’m a Gangrel vampire. That’s all you need to know.”</p><p>“... Okay. Sorry.” Lance kind of seemed genuinely sorry. “Are you like half Gangrel, half whatever Shiro’s clan is? It would explain why Shiro is looking after you.”</p><p>“I’m not Andeddohantā.” Said Keith. “Bring it up one more time and I won’t hesitate to kill you. Try and push me.”</p><p>“... Let’s try and find Lotor. Okay?”</p><p>“Good… Where the fuck would we find him?”</p><p>Lance thought for a moment. “Um… I know a few places. One place I am pretty sure that he might be at is a BDSM club near Chinatown.”</p><p>“... Why the hell do you know where the BDSM club is?”</p><p>Lance shrugged. “Toreador’s love being the center of attention. Once in a while we love all eyes on us as we dress in leather and paddle an overweight CEO while calling him a little piggy. It’s the little things in life that keep us going.”</p><p>“Right… Shouldn’t we go and check Lotor’s club?” Asked Keith. Mainly because he wasn’t overly comfortable with going to a sex club with Lance of all vampires.</p><p>“True… But the club is so close…”</p><p>Keith glared at him. “You just want to get your dick wet again.”</p><p>“Can you blame me?”</p><p>“Yes.</p><p>“You’re mean.”</p><p>“Can you blame me?”</p><p>“... Fair enough. But look, we’ll check it out and then check out the other places. But if he is there it’s a good place to go.”</p><p>“... Fine.” He grumbled.</p><p>***</p><p>Pidge quickly typed away at her computer. She had put the savaging case on the backburner and went back to her main goal. Her soul reason for being a vampire… Getting revenge on the vampire that killed her parents. </p><p>She and her brother had grown up in Scandinavia before the invasion of Christianity. Her parents were considered healers and inventors. People blessed by the gods. It drew the attention of many humans and some vampires. Of course their parents knew what they were, and had somehow become friends with a vampire named Ryner.</p><p>Ryner took a shine to Pidge and Matt. She was more than happy to help teach the children things and learn from them. She found them interesting. Pidge thought that Ryner was interesting and wanted to learn more about her and vampires in general. </p><p>Then the unthinkable happened when Matt and Pidge were out one evening. Their parents were murdered and house set on fire. Everyone was horrified. The villagers, Matt and Pidge, even Ryner. It took three years and a lot of convincing but eventually Ryner caved in and embraced Holt and Pidge so they could exact their revenge. It had been centuries but they still hadn’t found the vampire yet. They didn’t even know the motive.</p><p>Matt had been the first to suggest that maybe there was no motive. That maybe a vampire just attacked them for no reason? It was a depressing thought, but after centuries Pidge was close to giving up when Allura said she could give her what she wanted. She could give her revenge. She could serve up the vampire that killed her parents on a platter. She could get her revenge.</p><p>Matt sighed and sat on the couch next to her. “Still looking for them?”</p><p>“Yep… They killed our family Matt. You can’t just shrug it off.”</p><p>“I’m not Pidge.” Reassured Matt. “I’m just saying that there might be a chance that they are dead already… How can Allura give us our revenge if there is no one to get revenge on?”</p><p>“...”</p><p>“I’m just saying you need a backup plan for your undead life.”</p><p>Pidge rolled her eyes and snorted. “Yeah, right. And what’s your plan?”</p><p>Matt thought for a moment. “I think I’m gonna eventually leave Arus and go do some more exploring. I want to travel around and help out different clans. See if I can help them with their blood supplies and help them integrate better into human society. Stuff like that you know?”</p><p>That actually surprised her. She didn’t expect her brother to be the kind of guy that would want to do that, but then again he was all about making things better for everyone. He was just that kind of guy.</p><p>“Sounds like something you would do…”</p><p>“Yeah. I might go and visit Ryner.” Said Matt. “She and her clan are hanging out around Norway now, I think? I’m not too sure.”</p><p>Pidge nodded a little. They did wonder what Ryner was up to these days. She was technically their sire after all. She had spent the better part of a century helping them become upstanding vampires and then let them leave to do what they wish. They were lovely and didn’t shun them for wanting to leave like most sires would do to those they sired.</p><p>“Yeah… I’d like to see her again too.” Muttered Pidge. “But I’m not going to see her again until I have the vampire that killed our parents on a spike.”</p><p>“How nostalgic.”</p><p>“Yep.” Pidge typed a few more things into her laptop before she shut it for the night. She groaned in annoyance. “Fuck… I need to sleep or something…”</p><p>“Yeah. You probably should. Your sleep schedule is shit.”</p><p>“Go fuck yourself Matt.” Her phone started to buzz. She quickly grabbed it and made a threatening gesture at Matt. “I’ll threaten you more later.” She quickly looked through her texts. They were from Lance.</p><p>
  <strong>Lance</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>Good news! Honerva’s gonna give us her full cooperation.</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Pidge</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>I feel like there is a but in there.</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Lance</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>You know it ;)</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Anyway, we kind of have to find Lotor if we want her help</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Pidge</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>The vampire with his head so far up his ass he’s a living ouroboros?</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Lance</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>Yes.</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Pidge</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>Why?</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Lance</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>Turns out Honerva’s a Malkavian.</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Those guys are all a little loopy.</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Just best to do what she says.</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Pidge</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>Fair enough. Any leads?</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Lance</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>Yeah! But Keith is being a dildo!</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Pidge</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>What did you do?</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Lance</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>Okay, so I know Lotor goes to this BDSM club because I have seen him there.</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Pidge</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>No...</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Lance</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>So I’m trying to convince him to come to it with me.</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Pidge</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>You’re not taking him to a BDSM club.</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Lance</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>Heck yeah I can!</em>
  <br/>
  <em>BTW, can I ask a favour?</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Pidge</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>Depends. What is it?</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Lance</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>Some stuff came up about hybrids. Can you get me information on them?</em>
  <br/>
  <em>It came up and Keith got mad at me when I talked about it</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Pidge</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>Not surprised.</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Old vampires don’t like talking about that stuff.</em>
  <br/>
  <em>I don’t even like talking about that stuff.</em>
  <br/>
  <em>It was fucking brutal</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Lance</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>Please? Help a kindred out?</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Pidge</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>Fine, but you owe me.</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Lance</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>Thanks Pidge! You’re the best.</em>
</p><p>Pidge rolled her eyes. She knew she was the best. But she didn’t really want to talk about hybrids with Lance. By the time Lance had been Embraced and became a vampire the hybrid murdering had died down a lot. Hell, Hunk shamelessly said his desire was to be with Shay, a Nosferatu. Fledglings these days. They were too flippant with their desires.</p><p>Matt turned on the TV and started to channel surf. “What’s up Pidge? Someone sent you a random dick pick?”</p><p>“Ew, no… And even if they did I have a bigger dig saved on my phone to send back. This is about Lance.” She said calmly. “He wants to know about hybrids…”</p><p>Matt cringed. “Yeesh… He’s such a fledgling. He shouldn’t be poking around things he doesn’t understand… What are you going to tell him?”</p><p>She shrugged. “What can I tell him? That some hybrids made weak clans that died out after a single generation? Tell him about the ones that burst into flame? The ones that are confined to caves? Or do you want me to tell him about the more legendary ones? The day walkers and the vampires so crazy with power they could wipe out a clan by themselves?”</p><p>“... Fledglings have it easy these days.” Muttered Matt. “They don’t know the horrors… Didn’t you say Hunk has a thing for a Nosfuratu?”</p><p>“Yeah… I don’t think he understands what this means for all vampires. This isn’t just about them. They could make a weak vampire that humans will easily detect… It puts us all in danger. Hopefully Shay is smarter than him and will put a stop to it before he does something they both regret.”</p><p>“Hopefully…” Said Matt. He put the remote down when he had settled on a documentary about deer. “Well on the bright side it’s not like they could make a day walker. Those fuckers are nasty.”</p><p>Pidge sighed and slumped over the coffee table. “Not like it’s easy to make one of them either. Like one of them needs to be human, and even then depending on if the mother is a vampire of a human she might not survive… Even then the baby is probably gonna end up fucked up depending on how vampire or human they are.”</p><p>“Yeah.” Matt sighed and tilted his head back. He lightly drummed his fingers on his stomach as he seemed to be in thought. “You know, we’ve been alive for a long time… You ever think that a vampire and a human had a baby but like, it presented as a human but it was a day walker?”</p><p>Pidge shrugged. “I guess? But still… Hybrids are pretty unhinged. Almost as unhinged as a Malkavian… Fuck it. I’m going to bed. I’ve almost been up for two days straight.” She thought Matt said something about her getting a good sleep. But she didn’t really care. She double checked her black out curtains were firmly shut before she flopped down onto the mattress.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Eating habits</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Keith has odd eating habits for a vampire and Hunk and Shay share a moment. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Keith was going to strangle Lance. Going to that stupid BDSM club was 100% an excuse for Lance to try and get his dick wet, or stepped on, or something. He didn’t know what this weirdo was into. He flirted with the dominatrix at the front counter who was some kind of vampire. They talked for a bit while Keith stood near the door while quietly begging someone to strike him down with stake or silver or something.</p><p>After a while, Lance walked back over to him and shrugged. “Loto’s not here.”</p><p>“... So we came here for nothing? You dragged me to a BDSM bar for nothing?</p><p>“Nope. We learned that Lotor isn’t here and hasn’t been here for two months.”</p><p>“Right…”</p><p>“And you don’t believe me, do you?”</p><p>“Not in the slightest.”</p><p>A woman in a tight leather leotard walked over to Lance and lightly tapped his thigh with a riding crop. “Is the little piggy back for another session?” She asked. She smirked at Keith, showing off her fangs. “Did you bring another filthy stray in? Does this stray kitten need to be taught some manners?”</p><p>Keith rolled his eyes. “That’s it. I’m going to throw myself in front of the closest bus!” He quickly stormed out. Not even waiting for Lance to follow him. The vampire would probably stick around to get his balls stomped on by some woman in high heels. Each to their own but damn it all, Lance did not have to include Keith in this crap.</p><p>Since they were right across from the city's Chinatown, Keith decided to escape there for a while. He and Shiro had spent a good hundred years in China culling their undead, so he quite liked the atmosphere that was always there.</p><p>There were several street vendors selling food that made Keith’s stomach growl. Before he could stop himself he had a large box of pork jiaozi in his hands. Without thinking he started dipping them in soy-vinegar and started eating them. Such a familiar and comforting taste.</p><p>He was lucky he wasn’t like some other vampires. There were some that were cursed so that anything but blood would turn to ash in their mouths. For some it would instantly rotted and festered in their mouths.</p><p>Keith finished his food and immediately bought a large box of pan fried pork buns. Crunchy, fluffy and delicious. He washed it all down with a green tea. Then maybe he might have pigged out on cifantuna-thick rice balls, xi’an pancakes, and vegetable baozi. He might have eaten too much too soon because he was quickly running behind a restaurant and shoving his head into the dumpster to puke. Human food was just too good.</p><p>“So that’s where you went.” Said Lance as he walked over to him. “You really digging through the trash aren’t you?”</p><p>Keith growled at Lance as he wiped a bit of vomit off the corner of his mouth. “Fuck off.”</p><p>“... Wait, were you vomiting?” Asked Lance in shock. “Ew, gross. You were eating that stuff? Ew, you’re disgusting!” Keith rolled his eyes, picked a small bit of partially digested dumpling off his lip, and flicked it at Lance. It landed on his cheek and the other vampire screeched.</p><p>“Grow up.” Said Keith.</p><p>Lance wiped his face and looked repulsed. “That’s nasty! Can vampires even eat human food? Like, I know we can drink some alcohol and coffee, but still! You can eat human food?”</p><p>“Sometimes. It’s like an addiction… and you know… centuries of eating blood gets boring. I miss food.”</p><p>“Makes sense, but that was still uncalled for!” Whined Lance. “I only eat blood! Everything else just rots in my mouth!”</p><p>“Oh, so you’re one of those kinds of vampires?”</p><p>Lance pouted and crossed his arms. “What do you mean those kinds of vampires? You’re gross.”</p><p>Keith flipped him the bird. “Fuck off. I’m going home. Your leads fucking suck and by the time we get to Lotor’s club the sun will be coming up!”</p><p>Lance shrugged. “We can go to a hotel for the day? Not a big deal. It’ll be fine.”</p><p>“... I want to go home.”</p><p>The other vampire just rolled his eyes and dragged him along. “Just call Shiro. I’ll get us a place so don’t worry about it.”</p><p>***</p><p>Lance easily pulled through and the two of them ended up in a hotel room. Being used to sharing a bed with people he didn’t even bother with asking for a room with two beds. Just got one with a king sized bed. Keith death glared him and decided to sleep on the couch.</p><p>He didn’t really care if Keith wanted to sleep there. Just meant he had a bed all to himself. When the two of them had fixed the room up so it was light proof, Lance happily settled into bed. He sighed happily and looked over at Keith. </p><p>“You sure you don’t want to snuggle up with me?” He asked.</p><p>Keith glared at him from the couch. “Fuck off and die.”</p><p>“Oh, so aggressive. I’m just trying to make the offer.”</p><p>“Fuck off.”</p><p>“Whatever.” Lance rolled his eyes and started to text Pidge.</p><p>
  <strong>Lance;</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>Yo, Pidge? You still up?</em>
  <br/>
  <em>...</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Pidge?</em>
  <br/>
  <em>You there? Hello?</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Pidge;</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>I was trying to get some sleep. The fuck do you want asshole?</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Lance;</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>Yay! You’re awake :D</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Pidge;</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>Fuck you. What do you want?</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Lance;</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>Question about Vampires.</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Pidge;</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>Yeah?</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Lance;</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>What kind of vampires eat human food?</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Pidge;</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>What? None. Vampire’s drink blood dumbass.</em>
</p><p>Lance frowned when he heard that. Keith looked like he swallowed up the whole of Chinatown’s street food before emptying it in the trash. He didn’t know if Keith just ate it for the taste and then he vomited because he couldn’t handle it. Maybe it was an old, old vampire thing? Like before cities and stuff so they wouldn’t lose their minds and eat everyone?</p><p>
  <strong>Lance;</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>What about old vampires? Like centuries old?</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Pidge;</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>Bitch I am older than you. We don’t eat anything other than blood.</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Lance;</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>But I saw Keith eating food?</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Pidge;</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>You sure?</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Lance;</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>Yep</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Pidge;</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>Then that would mean Keith is a Nagaraja.</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Their bloodline is practically extinct.</em>
  <br/>
  <em>I guess you could call them cannibal vampires or flesh-eating vampires?</em>
  <br/>
  <em>But they eat human flesh along with drinking their blood. They can’t retract their fangs either and look like they have a mouth full of needles. Only ever met one before. Fucking scary.</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Lance;</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>But Keith wasn’t eating people. He was eating Chinese food.</em>
</p><p><strong>Pidge;</strong><br/><em>???</em><br/><em>Vampires don’t eat Chinese food.</em><br/><em>Maybe he’s a day walker or some other weird hybrid?</em><br/>idk.<br/><em>Let me sleep.</em></p><p>
  <strong>Lance;</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>TTYL</em>
</p><p>Lance put his phone down and looked over at Keith. The grumpy looking vampire was glaring at the wall and just looked pissed. It was kind of cute in a vicious kind of way. Lance couldn’t help himself. He wanted to squeeze his cheeks and make him growl. Maybe try and lash out at him? He had a long history of putting himself in dangerous situations. Though it was more for the entertainment of his sire.</p><p>His sire… She was a right bitch. Pretending to be some innocent and weak girl that couldn’t speak loud enough for him to hear her properly without leaning in close. She sunk her fangs into him and drained him dry. After that he was her fledgling but she treated him as a toy. She treated all the people she sired as toys. Vampires, ghouls, it didn’t matter. If she made them then they were hers to play with and enjoy how she saw fit.</p><p>He closed his eyes and attempted to sleep. Though Lance felt like he wasn’t going to get much sleep that day, especially when all he could think about was his sire and how she treated him. She was a monster. He was glad she abandoned him. Just wish she had done it sooner.</p><p>***</p><p>After Hunk’s shift finished he headed back to his home. Admittedly it was a little rundown, but it was close to the sewers. The sewers were where most of the Nosferatu in Arus lived. It was a pretty disgusting scene at the best of times, but the Nosferatu couldn’t really live in houses. If humans saw them they could become suspicious and everyone would suspect vampires. Hunk hated it.</p><p>When he got back home Shay was already waiting there for him by the gate. She was wearing her hoodie like normal. She waved slightly at him and smiled. “Hey Hunk.”</p><p>“Evening Shay. I um, I don’t have any blood with me right now…”</p><p>“I know… I um, I just wanted to hang out with you if you’re okay with that?”</p><p>“Of course. Come on in.” </p><p>He let Shay inside and the two of them sat on the couch to watch TV. She sat on one end of his couch and he sat on the other. They sat awkwardly as Shay slowly removed her hoodie to show off her natural features. To the normal she would look horrific, but he thought she looked beautiful. They weren’t the monsters everyone thought they were.</p><p>“So um… How is the family?” He asked.</p><p>Shay sighed sadly. “Some have started to show early stages of sickness… Sweats and fevers. We’re all scared. Many are thinking about leaving. Allura isn’t doing anything.”</p><p>“Well she only just got some people together to sort this out. It’ll be okay Shay. Really.”</p><p>“How do you know?” Asked Shay. “Whatever this sickness is it seems to be targeting nospheratu. If this keeps up my family is going to leave Arus and look for a different city…”</p><p>“What? Shay, no…” Hunk reached over and held her hand. “Shay, Arus is the most vampire friendly city this side of the country…”</p><p>“It’s not friendly to us!”</p><p>“Give me a month.” Said Hunk. “I’m working with people to fix this mess. Find the source, the cure. Something anything! Just…” He moved a little closer to her and gently squeezed her hands. “Shay… if I can figure this out Allura promised that we…” He looked down at Shay’s stomach and gently put his hand against it. “Things will be… It will be okay.”</p><p>She smiled sadly and put her hand over Hunk’s. “Hunk… Even if Allura’s okay with us being together… mixing clans is still… If they look like a Nospheratu-”</p><p>“We’ll both take care of them.” Said Hunk. “We’re both going to take care of them no matter what. Even if it’s in secret I’ll do what I can for them. A child born between two different clans… They are going to have the whole vampire word against them but we’re going to take care of them no matter what.” </p><p>Shay sniffled a little and blood slowly started to run out of her tear ducts. One of the many side effects of becoming a child of the night. Tears turn into blood. He got a tissue and quickly dried her eyes.</p><p>“Please don’t cry Shay… We will figure something out… If it does come down to it I’ll leave the city with you.”</p><p>“But you do so much for the community here.” Said Shay quietly. “You can’t just leave. You’re vital to the community here and-”</p><p>“I don’t care.” Said Hunk quickly. “You’re more important. You’ve always been more important to me…”</p><p>“Hunk…”</p><p>“Vampires are naturally selfish and greedy creatures, right?” Asked Hunk. “We’ll always want more, more, more… and what I want more than anything is to have a safe future together with you and our unborn child.”</p><p>Shay smiled softly and hugged him tightly. “Hunk… Selfish or greedy, you’re still the kindest, most amazing vampire I have ever met… You’re going to make an amazing father one day.” </p><p>“And you’re going to be an amazing mother… I’ll do everything I can to protect you both.”</p><p>“Hunk, you know vampire pregnancies are fickle. It can just stop at any time if it isn’t strong enough to survive and-”</p><p>“I know they will make it. You’re a strong woman and they will be strong too. I will keep you both safe.” He pulled her into a hug and gently squeezed. She hugged back with just as much fear and uncertainty as Hunk.</p><p>“C-can we stop talking about it for tonight?” She asked. “I just want to watch some movies and maybe stay the day?”</p><p>“Of course. Anything you want.” Hunk was more than happy to watch movies with Shay and forget the world around them.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Bunker</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Well should let you all know there are references to self harm in the chapter and I do know that people with mental illnesses are more than likely to be the victims of mental illness than the perpetrator of violence. This does comes up near the end. I've already established that the Malkavian vampire clan is insane to various degrees. This is also a fan fic about vampires. So not really going for 100% accurate. It's for fun. We all good now? Okay. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Keith found that Lance was just as annoying as ever the next evening when they both woke up. Lance was whining about wanting a fresh drink and Keith just wanted to punch him in the nose so he could drink his own blood and shut the hell up about it.</p>
<p>Thankfully though he managed to get an uber to get to Lotor’s club before Keith attacked him. The sooner they got this over with the better. Keith wanted to crawl back into his room and hide away for the next few hundred years, or at least until he left the city once again. He had socialized enough over the past few nights.</p>
<p>When they got there Lance was waved in. His clan could really get anywhere he wanted. So strange, but very helpful. Lance dragged him into the bar and towards the bartender. A woman with a long blond ponytail was working the place. She looked like a Gangrel to Keith just from her eyes.</p>
<p>Then again, the moment she opened her mouth she sounded like Lance. A Toreador. “Lance! Good to see you again. What’s up? Can I get you a drink? A true virgin bloody mary perhaps?” She asked with a wink. “Who is your friend?”</p>
<p>Lance grinned and reached over the bar to hug her. “Ezor! Good to see you again. This is my bodyguard. Keith.”</p>
<p>“Oooo, a bodyguard? Who did you piss off to get one of those?” Asked Ezor. “Or more importantly, who did Keith piss off to guard you?”</p>
<p>“You know how Allura can get.” Said Lance. “She likes me and always freaks out when she thinks there’s someone out to get her. She’s crazy powerful and all but she knows her friends aren’t. Anyway, is Lotor in?”</p>
<p>Ezor seemed a little uneasy at the mention of Lotor’s name. “Oh um… He’s out.”</p>
<p>“Out?” Questioned Keith. “Yeah, out. Besides, why do you need to see him?”</p>
<p>“Honerva sent us.” Said Keith. “She wants to see her son again.”</p>
<p>Ezor looked surprised. “Oh wow, Honerva’s asking for him? That’s… That seems pretty serious.” He pointed to a door near the back of the club being guarded by a woman that was built like a brick house. “Acxa’s in charge while Lotor’s away. She’s the only one that knows how to contact Lotor when he’s really needed. Just tell Zethrid there that you’re there on business and I’m sending you through personally.”</p>
<p>“Thanks Ezor.” Said Lance. “You’re the best.” Lance happily ran over to Zethrid to talk to her while Keith stayed behind. There was just something about Ezor that Keith couldn’t place.</p>
<p>She noticed that he was still staring at him and stared right back. “Need something cutie?”</p>
<p>“You’re a Gangrel, right?” He asked. “But you talk like a Toreador.”</p>
<p>“And your complexion is pretty sunkissed for a vampire.” Said Ezor calmly. She leaned over the bar and gestured for Keith to lean in closer as she spoke in a quiet voice. “Let me let you in on a little secret here Keith. If you met Honerva and she started going on about Lotor, you already know Lotor’s half Malkavian… Unlike normal vamps, a hybrid can always tell a hybrid is a hybrid just by looking at them. I’m obviously a Gangrel, Toreador hybrid.” They pointed over at Lance and Zethrid. “Zethrid is a Gangrel, Nosferatu hybrid.”</p>
<p>“Really?” Keith could kind of see it. She kind of looked a little gruffer than some other Gangrel.</p>
<p>Ezor nodded. “Yep. There’s also Narti, she does most of the ordering and stuff around here. She’s a Gangrel, Tremere. House Tremere.”</p>
<p>“I still don’t get houses. And if she’s a Tremere why is her house Tremere too?”</p>
<p>“Look, as far as I’m concerned your clan is your ethnicity, like saying your Asian or Caucasion.” Said Ezor. “A house is like saying you’re Japanese or Tiwanese. You’re still Asian but it’s more specific you know?” </p>
<p>“Right… And Acxa?”</p>
<p>“Gangrel, Brujah.”</p>
<p>“... A lot of Gangrels around here huh?”</p>
<p>Ezor shrugged. “What can I say? Maybe Gangrel’s are just good at fucking? Anyway, you should get going and if you ever need a place to hide you can hide here. No strings attached. Just like how clans look after their own, we hybrids gotta look after our own kindred, you know?” </p>
<p>“I guess… Bye.” Keith quickly went over to where Lance was still talking to Zethrid. Probably flirting with her to some degree. He didn’t really know what to make of other hybrids. He’d never actually met one that was alive before, and now he was in a club that seemed to be run exclusively by hybrids. It was weird. At least he knew they wouldn’t rat him out unless they wanted him to turn on them. </p>
<p>Zethrid let them into the back and the two walked down a hallway until they came to Lotor’s office. A woman, presumably Acxa, was pacing around and talking on her phone. She didn’t look very happy.</p>
<p>“Yes.” She said. “Look, I know but… I see but you… People are asking… Okay fine. I will deal with this myself. Thanks.” She hung up and looked at them. “Hello Lance and… Friend?”</p>
<p>“Bodyguard.” Corrected Lance. “Nice to see you again Acxa. You know where Lotor is?”</p>
<p>“He’s not here at the moment.” Said Acxa calmly. “Look, if you want to leave a message you can, but Lotor is busy… Very… very busy…”</p>
<p>While Lance whined and tried to convince Acxa to tell him where Lotor was, Keith quietly observed her from the door. She did carry the powerful presence of a Gangrel, but still approachable like a Brujah. At least that’s what he thought. He couldn’t help but feel that she was observing him just as much as he was her. He noticed that she was glancing at the desk every once in a while which made him grow suspicious.</p>
<p>She eventually put her hand up in front of Lance’s face. “Look, You want to find Lotor, I get that. A lot of people are trying to find him. Mostly Haggar and Zarkon. I can’t just tell people where he is…”</p>
<p>“Oh come on.” Whined Lance. “A favour for a favour?”</p>
<p>“You already owe me more favours than lives you’ve lived.”</p>
<p>“... You got me there.”</p>
<p>“What’s in the desk?” Asked Keith.</p>
<p>“Nothing.” Said Acxa a little too quickly. “Nothing that concerns you anyway.”</p>
<p>That got Lance very interested. “Oh? Something in the desk? Don’t you have a cooler for blood back there?”</p>
<p>“...”</p>
<p>“Knew it. Spill the beans Acxa. You know there is something in there that you don’t want us to see!” Proclaimed Lance. </p>
<p>Acxa seemed just as annoyed by Lance’s over the top acting. Maybe it was a Gangrel thing, or a hybrid thing? She seemed to be weighing up her options. She seemed to cave in, just a little. “Look, I have blood here. For Lotor. It’s not unusual for him to leave for months at a time, but he always comes back and grabs a pack or two. It lets us know he’s still alive. But I had to throw out three packs because they went off. So I’m worried he either isn’t eating.”</p>
<p>Keith found this suspicious. “Isn’t Lotor a grown vampire? He should be able to hunt his own food. Well yes and no… He is… Um…”</p>
<p>“Honerva is looking for him.” Said Lance. “Specifically asked for us to find him.”</p>
<p>That seemed to surprise her. “Honerva asked you personally? Well that changes everything… So I guess it wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you that Lotor is a Malkavian hybrid? Like all Malkavian he is insane to varying degrees. Which would be fine normally since most Malkavian aren’t insane murderers, but Lotor’s hybridization pushes him into the small minority psychotic insanity.”</p>
<p>Keith sighed. “Let me guess, he’s a Gangrel too?”</p>
<p>Acxa nodded and leaned against the desk “Yes. Keith, you should know that, being a Gangrel yourself, when one gets angry they get violent. Lotor’s psychosis wouldn’t be nearly as bad if it wasn’t for his Gangrel blood.”</p>
<p>“So where is he now?” Asked Lance.</p>
<p>“His madness is troublesome, but Lotor has bouts of clarity.” Said Acxa. “He constructed a secret bunker an hour outside the city. When he feels his madness setting in he hides there. But normally he isn’t there that long… I’d go and check on him myself, but I’m having enough trouble trying to keep this place disease free ever since that stupid blood plague started.”</p>
<p>“You’re having trouble with them around here?” Asked Keith.</p>
<p>Acxa nodded. “Yep. The ones that are starting to show some signs of sickness we have to turn away. Can’t risk them feeding and spreading their sickness to healthy humans. Sometimes I need to go out and deal with them personally… You two need Honerva’s help, right? Like really need it?”</p>
<p>“Unfortunately, yes.” Said Lance.</p>
<p>She nodded a little and went behind the desk. Acxa took out a cooler box and put it on the desk. “Okay, so to get this straight, you need to get Honerva’s help but to do that you need to talk to Lotor, but you need to find Lotor?”</p>
<p>“Yep.”</p>
<p>“Oky, so here is the deal, I’ll give you the address to where Lotor is. Make sure he’s been eating and not… You know… If Lotor’s in the right mind then talking to him will be fine. You just need to be a little cautious. Can you do that?”</p>
<p>“Of course.” Promised Lance.</p>
<p>Acxa frowned a little before she handed over the cooler box and a set of car keys. “Here the cooler has blood and those are the keys to my car. It has a GPS and is already set to get to Lotor’s bunker.”</p>
<p>“Oh sweet!” Lance quickly grabbed the keys. “I’m gonna drive!” Before anyone could say anything else, Lance was gone. Leaving Keith with the cooler.</p>
<p>“... He is an odd one, isn’t he.” Stated Acxa.</p>
<p>Keith shrugged. “He’s a little…”</p>
<p>“Annoying?”</p>
<p>“Yes.”</p>
<p>She shrugged and sat down at the desk. “His clan is often like that, but yeah… Lance is one of the nicer one. This club is meant to represent unity and equality for all the vampire clans in the city… I have a feeling you need Honerva’s help because you’ve made the connection between the sickness and the clubs?”</p>
<p>“Pretty much.” Said Acxa calmly. “When you really look into it, it’s obvious that there is something strange happening here.”</p>
<p>“Do you have any theories?” Asked Keith. “Do you think someone is spreading the disease deliberately or even made it?”</p>
<p>Acxa shrugged. “I have no idea. I personally haven’t heard any rumors about people wanting to spread disease. Haven’t even heard about any vampires getting sick in neighbouring cities. It could very well just be a mutated virus. Wouldn’t have been the first time. Living through the bubonic plague was difficult…”</p>
<p>Keith nodded in agreement. It wasn’t uncommon to get a mouth full of puss when biting into their victims neck. Vampires became sick to various degrees and started to spread the disease among any healthy humans they didn’t drain dry. It was pretty horrific.</p>
<p>“Well, I better get going before Lance drives your car into a tree…”</p>
<p>“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t do that.”</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>The drive to Lotor’s bunker was surprisingly uneventful. Lance was a pretty good driver. Keith kind of thought that Lance would have been a really shitty driver, but he was wrong. As they drove, Keith took two yawara out of his pocket. </p>
<p>They were simple but decorative enough for people to think they were just some decoration, but they were a weapon. One of the first Shiro had taught him how to use. With his increased strength due to vampirism, Keith could punch a hole in a tree. When using his yawara properly he could punch a rock in half. He was also good at using the rounded ends of it to cause devastating damage to his opponents. He’s killed dozens of vampires with these alone.</p>
<p>They got to the location on the GPS and got out. They were in the middle of fucking nowhere. Lance frowned and glared at the GPS. “This doesn’t seem right…”</p>
<p>“It’s probably hidden somewhere.” Keith handed Lance the cooler and went to look around. He easily slipped back into the mindset of a vampire hunter. </p>
<p>Most vampires would use illusions in one form or another or another. He quickly found a rock with an illusion charm on it. Now, Keith wasn’t a huge fan of illusions. He wasn’t good at vampire magic, so he just punched it until it shattered the illusion. When the illusion was gone all that was left was a door. </p>
<p>Keith pushed it open and gestured for Lance to walk in. “After you, silver tongue.”</p>
<p>“Oh, are we on a nickname basis now mullet?” Asked Lance as he walked in. Keith rolled his eyes and followed him. He could instantly smell dried blood. At least tacky and kind of dried. Something had died there recently.</p>
<p>The bunker was pretty dark and had several twisted hallways. Keith was kind of impressed. It kind of reminded him of some of the secret dungeons that he and Shiro would raid to kill vampire clans across Asia.</p>
<p>Eventually they came to a room and slowly opened the door. In the corner of the darkened room there was a man. His hair was long and kind of silver. He looked kind of fucked up. This was probably Lotor. Still not fully mentally there. Keith instinctively took a fighting stance. He’d gone and killed vampires that looked less crazy than this in the past.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Lance was obviously freaking out. This was one of the reasons he was wary of hybrids. Never knew what you were going to get with one of them. He really hoped that Lotor would be in one of his better moods and not want to hurt them or something.</p>
<p>“H-hey? Lotor?” Called Lance. “Are you okay?”</p>
<p>“... Lotor?” Mumbled the other vampire. He slowly raised his head. He didn’t look like he was fully there. “Lotor… Lotor… That’s one of the names this vesile responds to. A lifeless husk consumed by the hollow and empty words of everyone that have died at the fangs of this undead thing.”</p>
<p>Keith leaned towards Lance. “So, I don’t know anything about Malkavians or Lotor. Good idea or bad idea to punch him?”</p>
<p>“Very bad idea.” Hissed Lance. “Pretty sure Lotor’s schizophrenic or maybe has DID?”</p>
<p>“How would you know?”</p>
<p>“I used to live in a traveling freak show.” Said Lance. “Back in the day mentally ill people were really good entertainment.”</p>
<p>“... Fair enough. But if he gets vicious I’m breaking his jaw.”</p>
<p>“Okay...” Lance took a blood pack out of the cooler and very slowly walked towards Lotor. The other smelled strongly of dried and coagulating blood. He noticed that the other vampire’s body was covered in deep scratches. Self inflicted wounds. This was not good.  “Hey, are you hungry Lotor? I have some food for you.” He slid the pack over to him. “O+, universal donor. I’m sure you’ll-”</p>
<p>Lotor grabbed the pack and ripped it open with his fangs. Blood splattered all over the walls and all over Lotor’s mouth and chin as he sucked the plastic clean. After a few seconds of silence, Lotor seemed to calm down and he started to clean up his appearance a little.</p>
<p>“Who are you two? Why are you here? How did you even get in here?” He asked.</p>
<p>“Well I’m Lance, obviously. We’ve crossed paths a few times.” Said Lance. “And this is Keith. Acxa asked us to check up on you. You’ve apparently been away for about a month. Honerva wanted us to find you too.”</p>
<p>“A month? Really? I see…” Lotor slowly stood up, legs shaking, and both could see some of the more vicious, self inflicted wounds. He’d really attacked himself pretty badly. He walked over to a cabinet in the wall and started to bandage his wounds. “Hmm, these bouts of Malkavian insanity are starting to become more frequently… Pity. I’ll probably have to drain someone fully to get rid of these scars.”</p>
<p>“So you have been attacking yourself for a month?” Asked Keith.</p>
<p>Lotor shrugged. “The nature of the beast, that is the curse of the Gangrel clan, is amplified and much more vicious when my Malkavian side kicks in. It’s terribly confusing trying to stop a savage beast from attacking everyone and everything around them while listening to several other voices reciting poetry and singing…” He put his medical supplies away and looked over at them. He was still quite bloody, but he looked more like his old self. At least in Lance’s eyes. “So, what does the daughter of Janus want with me?”</p>
<p>“Who?” Asked Keith.</p>
<p>Lance easily brushed it off. You had to read in between the lines when talking with Malkavians. Though Lotor usually talked more normally. He was probably still a little unhinged at the moment. “Honerva wants to see you. She’s worried about you. Hasn’t seen you in a month.”</p>
<p>“Yes, well that would worry her… My stone faced right hand showed you the bread crumbs that lead to me and my location?”</p>
<p>Lance nodded, assuming Lotor was talking about Acxa and the GPS. “Yes.”</p>
<p>Lotor frowned at that. “I see… Show the daughter of Janus my bread crumbs so she can find me too, but only to the good daughter.” He warned. “The second spawn of Janus is not to be trusted. A chameleon whom only a fool would trust. She has not one sweet word but offers more on insight. An oracle both accurate and insane.”</p>
<p>“I see.” Lance did not see. He might have been talking about Haggar? But that was assuming that Honerva was the daughter of Janus. “We’ll only tell your mother where you are… But wouldn’t it be better to come with us? You can talk to Honerva yourself. We can get in the car and drive off tonight.”</p>
<p>“No we can’t.” Said Keith. “It’s almost dawn. It took us almost all night to get here. We’re going to have to stay here tonight or burn.”</p>
<p>“... We can see her tomorrow night.”</p>
<p>“No.” Said Lotor firmly. “You can’t stay here today. It’s too dangerous. My Malkavian side is making it much too easy for the beast to reach out and attack. You need to leave now or I will attack and kill you.”</p>
<p>Keith rolled his eyes and cracked his knuckles. “Alright, time to break some jaws.”</p>
<p>“Wait, Keith! Don’t freak him out! He’ll-”</p>
<p>Before Lance could finish talking Lotor grabbed hold of Lance by the throat and lifted him into the air. It had been a while since Lance had been in a proper fight. He might be a skinny little vampire boy, but he was still a vampire. He bared his fangs and slashed at Lotor’s face.</p>
<p>The vampire snarled at him and his vicious maw started to change into a more wolf shape. Part of his Gangrel heritage no doubt. Before Lotor could lay into him, Keith’s fist went flying into Lotor’s jaw. There was a sickening crack as he stumbled back and dropped Lance. Keith was snarling too and his facial features had changed to be a lot more wolf-like, just like Lotor. It was definitely a Gangrel thing.</p>
<p>The two started ripping into each other, punching, kicking, and scratching. It was like watching two rabid animals going at it, but worse. Vampires were much more durable than any living animal. They could and would reach each other apart.</p>
<p>Lance went and quickly looked around the room for some kind of weapon, but as he looked for anything to help, Keith went flying headfirst into the wall. He hit the floor hard and stopped moving. Lotor grabbed Lance by the back of his head and slammed his face into the ground until he saw stars and stopped moving.</p>
<p>“... Shit.” Muttered Lotor. “I broke them. Broke the yin-yang and the wilted rose… Best to throw it out. Throw them out. Throw them out.”</p>
<p>He picked up both Keith and Lance by the back of their shirts and started to drag them back towards the bunker door. He was still pretty dazed and couldn’t properly formulate a plan to try and get them out of this situation. He should have brought a weapon along like Keith did.</p>
<p>As Lotor got to the door Keith started to stir. “... What the fuck just happened?” He muttered.</p>
<p>“Broke, broken, broken.” Muttered Lotor. “Lock the broken door. Keep them out. Out, out, out.”</p>
<p>Lance yelped in surprise as he was thrown out on his ass. Seconds later Keith was also tossed out and landed right on top of him. The wind would have been knocked out of Lance’s lungs if he had any breath to begin with. </p>
<p>The door to the bunker slammed shut and Keith quickly jumped off him and ran to the door. He growled and started to punch and kick at it. “LOTOR!” He roared. “IT’S ALMOST DAWN YOU FUCK! LET US IN!” When he got no response Keith kicked the door again. “FUCK!”</p>
<p>Lance gulped and looked up at the sky. The sky wasn’t black. It was dark blue and the stars were fading. Lance had only been burnt by the sun a small handful of times. Each time it took months to heal naturally or every drop of blood from a fresh, healthy human. But those were small burns from the sunl Tiny blisters and lesions from pinpricks of light from his black out curtains not being properly drawn. It stung and it burned. Feeling like acid being poured into an open wound.</p>
<p>“FUCK!” Keith punched the door one last time before he gave up. “We aren’t getting back in.”</p>
<p>“What are we going to do?” Asked Lance. “We can’t be out in the sunlight. We’ll fucking die!” He started to panic. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! M-maybe we can hide in the car?”</p>
<p>Keith rolled his eyes. “The windows are tinted! They aren’t UV proof you idiot!”</p>
<p>“I’m trying!” Whimpered Lance. “Fuck! I don’t want to die like this! It’s going to be slow and it’s going to hurt!”</p>
<p>“... Fuck.” Keith went back over to the car and pulled open the boot. He started to pull things out and toss them aside. “Get on the West side of the car and crouch down. You have to stay in the shade.”</p>
<p>Lance didn’t think twice and quickly hid behind the car. His mind was racing and his heart, though atrophied slightly due to his undead state, was beating like crazy. Despite living for as long as he did and knowing the true nature of the undead, Lance was afraid to die. He didn’t want to die. Not like this. Not in pain and screaming as his skin burned and burst open like pustules.</p>
<p>“Ha!” Keith pulled out a thick blue tarp out of the back of the car. It was a good size too. Big enough to rap a body in, and from the light smell of copper it was probably used for transporting dead bodies once they had been drained. No where near big enough to cover both of them.</p>
<p>“... What the fuck is that going to do?” Hissed Lance. “We’re both going to burn.”</p>
<p>“Shut up and lie down.”</p>
<p>“What? What the fuck are-?” Before Lance could finish his question Keith tackled him to the ground and quickly wrapped him up before shoving him under the car. “... What the fuck?” Lance squirmed and tried to free himself, but Keith kicked him in the face. “Ow!”</p>
<p>“Stop moving! Do you want to burn? The sun is coming up!” Growled Keith. “The sky is already becoming blue. If you don’t want to die then just stay still!”</p>
<p>“But what about you? You’ll-”</p>
<p>“I’ll be fine!”</p>
<p>“But you…” Lance sniffed the air and questioned the lack of burning flesh and blood in the air. He could already feel the sun heating the air by a few degrees. How could Keith not be burning out in the sun? Lance was silent for a few moments as he stayed under the tarp as things quickly clicked into place for him. “... So you are a day walker?”</p>
<p>“... Yeah.” Said Keith quietly.</p>
<p>Lance frowned. From what Keith had told him about his past this didn’t seem to make much sense. “So was your dad a vampire or what?”</p>
<p>“Why do you care?” Asked Keith. </p>
<p>“Well I’m stuck under this tarp for like twelve hours and I highly doubt I’m getting to sleep any time soon. Too hot and stuffy in this plastic.” Said Lance. “Talk to me… Tell me how this all works. Like, I’ve never met a day walker before. Only ever heard about them… So does that mean you can spit fire or something?”</p>
<p>Keith snorted in amusement. “Spit fire? That’s a new one… No. I can’t spit fire. I’m pretty much just immune to UV radiation and I can eat human food without a problem. Apart from that I’m pretty much a vampire. I’m not really that special…”</p>
<p>“You kidding me? You can watch a sunrise and a sunset without your face melting off.” Said Lance. “Wish I could watch it without my eyes blistering over… Wait, who is your sire then? Do you even have a sire? Would a baby vampire consider their mothers their sire?” </p>
<p>“Shiro is kind of my sire… Kind of…”</p>
<p>“What do you mean kind of? Either he is or he isn’t.”</p>
<p>Keith sighed heavily. “There are actually more day walkers alive then you would think there are… Humanity is just a dominant trait. Vampirism is more dormant that gets awoken in day walkers.”</p>
<p>“And how does that happen?”</p>
<p>“A day walker has to drink vampire blood.” Said Keith. “Once we do that our vampire side takes over. It doesn’t matter what clan the vampire that woke us up was from, we ourselves stay whatever clan our parents were from. Specifically our mothers.”</p>
<p>“That’s… How did you and Shiro meet?”</p>
<p>“... Nah.”</p>
<p>Lance pouted. “What do you mean nah? Story for a story. You tell me how you became a vampire and I’ll tell you how I became one?”</p>
<p>Keith was quiet for a long, long time before he sighed heavily. “My village was close to the border of modern day North Korea and China…”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Vampirism</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Enjoy learning how these two assholes became vampires. And remember I use Gippeum as Keith's original name before he decided to Anglicize it when he came to the west. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The village Kogane Gippeum lived in was relatively peaceful. They were just a simple farming village after all. They grew crops, raised cattle, paid taxes to the local lords, and prayed that the gods would protect them from raiders. A rather simple life, but one Gippeum found satisfaction in.</p>
<p>Lately though there had been some animals sneaking into his field and eating his soybeans. So Gippeum stayed out in the fields that night. But after waking up before dawn and working all day in the fields, he was really tired. So it was no surprise to him when he fell asleep in the middle of the field.</p>
<p>What did surprise him was waking up in the middle of the night to the sound of a small child’s scream. He quickly shot up and looked around. That scream sounded like it was coming from the shrine. It didn’t sound like any scream he had ever heard before. It was like a final death scream.</p>
<p>The only thing he had close to a weapon was his hoe that he was going to use to scare away what was taking his soybeans. He ran to the shrine to check on the children there, and what he saw made his blood run cold. Children. Dead children. Every single one of them was laying on the ground with glassy eyes in small pools of blood. Some of them were missing limbs.</p>
<p>Gippeum was shaking. Something slaughtered them all. He had to get to the village. He had to get help. He ran to the village as fast as he could. The second he ran into the village he tripped over a severed arm and fell face first into a puddle of blood.</p>
<p>“... No.” He whispered. “No, no, no, no, no…” He saw something running along the rooftops. They then jumped down behind the house and someone shrieked. He had to get out of there. Now.</p>
<p>Gippeum turned tail and ran out of the village. Demons. It had to be demons. Demons were attacking his village and he couldn’t do a damn thing about it. He was scared. He had no idea what to do or who he could go to for help. He had to go back to the shrine and check if anyone was still alive. If any of the children were alive he’d grab them and escape to the next village for help.</p>
<p>As he ran back to the shrine he saw Han-Gyeol. The old man was slowly walking out of the shrine. He looked a little worse for wear. “Seonsaeng!” Cried Gippeum. He ran up to the older man. “We have to get out of here! Demons have taken over the village! They’ve killed everyone.”</p>
<p>“So they are in the village now?” Asked the old man. He seemed out of it, like he was in shock.</p>
<p>“Yes. Demons are in the village. We have to go now.” Gippeum held the old man’s hand and started to pull him away. “We have to get out of here. If we don’t they are going to kill us. We need to get help! Warn the other villages that-” The old man painfully twisted his arm behind his back and held him in place, laughing darkly. “... Han-Gyeol?”</p>
<p>Han-Gyeol chuckled as he leaned in close to Gippeum’s neck. “You smell so sweet… Not as sweet as those little children, but you still smell good. Must be all that young blood.”</p>
<p>“D-demon… You’re a demon… You brought them here…” Whispered Gippeum.</p>
<p>“I’m just being a good sire.” Said Han-Gyeol. “My little fledglings were starving and I needed to let them feed. This is a farming village after all. You’re all nothing but farming animals.” </p>
<p>While Gippeum was trying to process this betrayal he felt something flying past his face. He was immediately jerked around and ended up face to face with a man with jetblack hair pointing a silver tipped arrow at them. His eyes were blood red and his fangs were prominent.</p>
<p>“Han-Gyeol…” Growled the man as he pulled the string back a little more. “Let the human go now and I might let you go.”</p>
<p>“Nice try Shirogane. Not going to happen.” Growled Han-Gyeol. “I know the second I let him go you’re going to shoot me. So here is what we are going to do instead, you’re going to let me and this little meal run off with the rest of my clan. We might let him go. Maybe. Depends on who is hungry.”</p>
<p>Shirogane looked annoyed for a moment before he sighed and looked at Gippeum. “Human. Your entire village is dead. Anyone that isn’t dead is dying. This thing, Han-Gyeol, is a vampire. A blood sucking demon I have been tracking for the good part of a year. He has sired many demons like himself. If I let him take you he will kill you. If I shoot him, my arrow will have to pierce your chest in order to kill him. You can either sacrifice your life to save countless more humans or you can die as someone’s food.”</p>
<p>Gippeum gulped. He was scared. He didn’t know what was going on. This demon thing called a vampire had killed his entire village. Han-Gyeol, someone everyone trusted. Someone who had let the other demons in and killed them all. He was scared, but also pissed.</p>
<p>“Don’t you dare miss.” Growled Gippeum.</p>
<p>A second later an arrow pierces his chest with unnatural speed and force. It felt like someone had shot a rock through his chest. He felt extreme heat behind his body before a sand like substance fell over him. He fell to the ground. He knew he probably had seconds left to live now.</p>
<p>He looked up at Shirogane. The man walked over to him and looked at him with contemplation. He said some things but Gippeum’s vision was finally fading. Everything was over. His only regret was that he couldn’t do anything to stop or avenge his village. When he closed his eyes he knew everything was over as his blood simultaneously filled his lungs and spilled out onto the grass.</p>
<p>That was when he felt something warm spilling against his lips and aling his tongue. It tasted good and his mouth was quickly filling up with it. He swallowed and wanted more. Before he realised it he was sitting up again with his fangs sinking deep into Shirogane’s wrist.</p>
<p>He should have been disgusted with himself, but he wasn’t. He couldn’t stop drinking. Eventually the man pulled his wrist away but Gippeum reached for it. His body demanded more. It craved more.</p>
<p>“That’s enough little ghoul.” Said Shirogane. “You don’t need more blood.”</p>
<p>“... What did you do to me?” Asked Gippeum. “I-” He groaned in pain as he clutched his head. He could hear everything around him. He could hear every heartbeat. Every fucking heartbeat of everything around him. He could hear Shirogane’s hartbeat too, but it was more prominent in the village. Fast heartbeats quickly fading and dying out. He was angry. He was pissed.</p>
<p>“I was impressed by your willingness to sacrifice yourself for the greater good so I-”</p>
<p>“I don’t care.” Growled Gippeum as he slowly stood up. “They aren’t dead. Those bastard demons that killed my village are still out there. I’m going to kill them… I’m going to kill them all!” He snarled and bolted back to the village. All he wanted to do now was end him. Rip and tear. Rip and tear. Rip and tear.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>“And after I slaughtered the remaining vampires with Shiro’s help he filled me in on what I was.” Said Keith. He chuckled a little as he thought of the past. “Of course he thought I was a ghoul since he only gave me his blood and he never drank a drop of my blood. He’d also never made a ghoul himself and we didn't realise I was a day walker until we came to the West and figured out how prominent that problem was over here.”</p>
<p>Lance shuffled a little inside his blue tarp burrito. “Wow… So the Gangrel rage just kinked in like that?”</p>
<p>“Yep.” Keith sighed and looked up at the sky. Bright blue with overcast. It had been a while since he had seen the morning sky. He’d almost forgotten anything could really be that blue. “After that I kind of dedicated myself to killing vampires. An unending quest for revenge against the monsters that take pleasure in murdering humans. My quest for vengeance has led me to do many, many horrible things. If there is such a thing as an after life I’ll be taken to the darkest pits of whatever hell there is for my crimes.”</p>
<p>“Dramatic much?”</p>
<p>Keith rolled his eyes.”It is what it is. So… we still have a few hours. How did you turn?”</p>
<p>“My story isn’t nearly as fun or exciting as yours.”</p>
<p>Keith chuckled a little as he watched a small lizard run across the ground. “So your story doesn’t involve bloodshed and everyone you knew and cared for getting slaughtered like sheep?”</p>
<p>“Unfortunately no. My story is more like a drama than a tragedy… So at the time we were in Prussia and isn’t wasn’t uncommon for some of us to get borrowed for the night by the super rich and elite for their entertainment...”</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Lance had just finished off his act for the evening, getting a wonderful round of shocked gasps and cries of fear, joy and disgust. He bowed for them as they were ushered to the next tent. He hummed a little to himself as he stretched and cracked his knuckles with a smile. He heard someone clapping and saw a young girl. </p>
<p>She looked like a doll. She was very pretty, but looked like she might have been thirteen at the oldest. Lance just grinned and happily bowed to her. “Thank you. Thank you. I am glad you enjoyed the show. But there are much more impressive acts if you go through there.” He gestured to the exit.</p>
<p>The girl just tilted his head slightly. “I guess…” She said quietly. “I like you more though.”</p>
<p>“Thank you.” Said Lance with a smile. “I try my best to entertain.”</p>
<p>“Is your name really Serpent?” </p>
<p>“It’s a stage name my dear.” Said Lance. “Pray tell, what is your name?”</p>
<p>“Mary Von Krockow.” Said Mary. “Now what is your name?”</p>
<p>“Lance.” He said. “Lance McClain. It’s a pleasure to meet you and everyone here at the Ramirez House of Oddities appreciates your patronage.” Mary nodded and smiled at him. They were quiet for a few minutes before Lance cleared his throat. “So um, do you have someone you are with? Maybe someone waiting for you outside? It’s quite dangerous for a young lady like yourself to be out at an evening show all by yourself.”</p>
<p>“Ja.” She said calmly. “Hagen is waiting for me outside. It was nice to meet you sir. Until next time.”</p>
<p>“Until next time miss Von Krockow.” He bowed to her again and watched her join the rest of the group. </p>
<p>Lance hummed a little to himself and started to pack up his things from his act. It wasn’t even like he had many things. To begin with. He just had the bag he was brought out in. As he worked Lenny, the dwarf, walked over to him.</p>
<p>“Hey Lance, how was the show?” He asked.</p>
<p>“Pretty much the same as always.” Said Lance. “Lots of gasps of shock and what not. By the way, aren’t there a lot of kids around tonight?”</p>
<p>Lenny laughed as he took out a cigarette and started to smoke. “Yeah. They’re trying to be all tough. Face the freaks and all that shit. Lots of people are giving Donna shit.” He lit a second cigarette and offered it to Lance.</p>
<p>He gladly took it and took a quick puff. “Sucks man. Want me to come out with you to the florist to grab some flowers for her?”</p>
<p>“That’d be great.” Said Lenny as they walked back to the tent where the performers all went to eat and relax. “Donna’s tougher than the railroad spikes that Carl eats, but she’s still a lady and it gets to her sometimes. Gotta make sure my woman feels like a thousand thaler’s. Speaking of, here.” He took a silver coin out of his pocket and tossed it up at him. “Here. Consider that last pack of smokes repaid.”</p>
<p>“Consider the debt repaid.” </p>
<p>The two of them sat on some crates near where the siamese twins, Anna and Joanna were sitting. Anna was smoking while Joanna was eating her bowl of soup. They apparently shared a stomach and Anna hated eating Joanna loved it. The two of them would argue a lot about this and no one really understood it, but they didn’t care too much. They were still nice enough.</p>
<p>“How was tonight?” Asked Anna.</p>
<p>“Too many kids.” Said Lenny. “All wanna prove how tough they are. Little shits.” He sat down and happily puffed up a storm. “... I fucking hate kids.”</p>
<p>“You look like a kid.” Said Anna.</p>
<p>Lenny glared at her. “You watch your mouth. I might be small but I’ll pop you right in the jaw.”</p>
<p>“You can’t even reach my face half pint.” Said Anna.</p>
<p>“Fine. I’ll punch you right in the coochie.”</p>
<p>Anna huffed and furiously smoked away while Joanna finished her food. As the night went on more of the freaks finished up their acts and headed over to relax and make themselves comfortable. Everyone shared their best reactions from the night and Carl the iron eater started to play poker with Lenny and Amanda the bearded lady.</p>
<p>Soon the Ringmaster of their little freaky family; Antonio Ramirez, came to speak with them. “Amazing show again tonight everyone. Ivan, I need to go to town to get more food. Think you can handle that?”</p>
<p>“Ivan need new pot.” Said the strong man. “Ivan’s pot rusted. No good.”</p>
<p>“We can grab that too.” He pointed at Lance. “Also, tomorrow night you’re going to a little… private function.”</p>
<p>Lance raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Oh? Really?”</p>
<p>“Yeah. Local lords want to gawk at you some more. Von Krockow or something all fancy like that.” Said Ramirez. “They paid fifty thaler up front. You know the drill”</p>
<p>Lance sighed a little. He didn’t really like these private shows they went to. He understood he got off lighter than some of the other people there. Apparently there were some weirdos out there that want to screw around with Anna and Joanna. It was weird. None of them really like it but a job was a job and money was money.</p>
<p>So the next day Lance went to some crazy looking estate at dusk. He had been to a few fancy places like this one and kind of hoped that there weren’t any super freaks out there that wanted to feel him up or something. Rich people were fucking weird.</p>
<p>He knocked on the door and a man answered. He was a towering man. Lance just smiled awkwardly and waved nervously at him. “Hi? I um… I’m Lance. I’m from the Ramirez House of Oddities. I was told to-”</p>
<p>“Hagen.” Said the man. “Come in. The lady of the house wanted you here.” Lance nodded and followed the man inside. He followed Hagen down a hallway to a lavashed looked ballroom. It already looked decked out to the nines and ready for a party. There were several other men walking around cleaning the place up. Hagen gestured to a platform. “You will perform there. You can contort your body right?”</p>
<p>“Very well.”</p>
<p>“Good. There is a party here tonight. You will perform for two hours and rest for half an hour, and then perform again. You are free to help yourself to food and drink between performing. There is a room you can stay in for the evening and go home in the morning.”</p>
<p>“Oh, thanks. Will I be able to meet the lord and lady of the house before tonight?” Asked Lance.</p>
<p>“There is no lord of the house.” Said Hagen. “Only Lady Von Krockow.”</p>
<p>Lance nodded. “I see. Will I be able to speak to the lady of the house?”</p>
<p>“She will come to you when she is ready.” Said Hagen. “You do not go to her.”</p>
<p>“... Of course?” Lance didn’t really know what to make of that and just went about preparing himself to look pretty enough for this place with a bunch of crazy rich people. Hagen led him to a bathroom and let him get changed. Lance was happy enough to get changed into his leotard and started to apply makeup to his face. Something to make his skin shimmer and really make himself look like a serpent.</p>
<p>Suddenly the door opened and a young girl looked in. Lance jumped a little in surprise. She was pretty and very familiar. “Oh! Mary! How nice to see you again.”</p>
<p>Mary smiled at him and seemed very pleased. “You remember me. Good.”</p>
<p>Lance smiled kindly at her and bowed at her. “Your mother wouldn’t happen to be the lady of the house?”</p>
<p>The girl giggled and shook her head. “Nope. I, Mary Von Krockow, am the lady of the Von Krockow estate. I enjoyed your performance the other day and I wanted you to be at the party tonight.”</p>
<p>“Oh?” This was weird, but considering some of the things that Lance had seen in his time, this wasn’t that crazy. “Well I hope I can entertain your guests.”</p>
<p>“I’m sure you will.” Said Mary as she stepped closer to him. “I like pretty things and you are exceptionally pretty Lance.”</p>
<p>“... Thanks?” He wasn’t sure he liked how she was speaking to him, but she left the room after that and Lance continued getting ready. Though he couldn’t help but feel a little dirty. He didn’t know why. It was the same kind of feeling he would get when some older men and women looked at him. It was the sickening feeling of desire. It made him feel sick. She shook though thoughts away as he added more colour to his face.</p>
<p>Soon the party was underway and Lance was performing for them. They were all much older than Mary and seemed to be coming out of the woodworks. Lance was almost entranced by how many beautiful people there were there. Still Lance did what he was paid to do, look pretty and twist his body around.</p>
<p>After the first few hours were up he did look around to see if there was any food that he could nibble on, but he didn’t find any. So he went to the kitchens and went to get a drink. When he went to find something someone gave him a drink. He wasn’t sure what it was, but it was refreshing enough.</p>
<p>He started to do his second performance and things were going well for a while, but after a few minutes his mind started to become foggy and the room started to spin. Before he could say anything Lance collapsed onto the platform.</p>
<p>His head was spinning like crazy and something warm and wet brushed against his lips. Lance swallowed but he felt like he wanted to vomit. His head was swimming and his veins were in fire, quickly increasing in pain. Eventually the agony was too much and Lance’s body passed out.</p>
<p>When he woke up Mary was there. She was sitting on the bed next to him. She was grinning widely at him. He groaned and sat up. “What happened.”</p>
<p>“I like you.” She said. “You are pretty.”</p>
<p>“... Right?” Lance sat up, his head was still throbbing in pain. He looked down at his clothes and saw that he wasn’t wearing the leotard he was in before. “... What the? I-I need to get back.”</p>
<p>“They already left.” Said Mary.</p>
<p>Lance was confused. “What? But we aren’t scheduled to leave for another week.”</p>
<p>“You’ve been asleep for two weeks.”</p>
<p>“... I-I have to go.” Lance quickly got up and tried to leave the room when the smell of something rich and metallic filled the air. He looked over at Mary and saw a thin stream of blood running across her palm and down her index finger. “Are you okay? What did you do?”</p>
<p>He went back to her and the closer he got to her bloodied hand the more his gums ached and his the more his started to salivate and his stomach growled. She smiled at him and let the blood collect under her nail. Her smile was kind but her eyes were poison. </p>
<p>“Kneel.” She said calmly. Without a second thought Lance dropped to his knees in front of her. “Good boy. Open your mouth.” Lance opened his mouth and watched as a single drop of her blood dripped from her nail and landed on his tongue. It was euphoric. Something so pure and sweet he needed more. He made a grab for her wrist but before he could touch her she kicked him in the chin. “Don’t you dare little fledgling. You do not get to touch me like that unless I allow it. I am your sire and you must do as I say.”</p>
<p>“... Wh-who are you?” Asked Lance in a shaky voice. “What did you do to me?”</p>
<p>The girl laughed and happily got off the bed, dusting off her dress as she did so. “I guess proper introductions are in order now… My name is Mary Von Krockow. I am over three hundred years old and the head vampire of Prussia’s illustrious Toreador clan. I only embrace the cutest and prettiest humans into my clan. Welcome to the world of vampires.”</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>“And that’s how I became a vampire.” Said Lance.</p>
<p>“... So she drugged you and forced you to become a vampire?” Asked Keith.</p>
<p>“Yep.”</p>
<p>“That sucks.” Muttered Keith. At least he kind of had an idea that Shiro was a vampire before he unintentionally woke up his vampire side. “... So how come you’re still not with your sire?”</p>
<p>“She got tired of me, stuck me in a crate and left me in a crypt.” Said Lance. “Luckily the place was pretty awful and water seeped in. So the wood rotted quickly and I was able to feed off some pigs at the pig farm. I wandered around for a long time and then I eventually found Luxia and she offered me a place in her clan when she found out that Mary sired me.”</p>
<p>Keith nodded slowly and looked at a tree across the road. There were still a few hours before sunset and Lance could get unwrapped from the tarp. Keith didn’t really know what to talk about now. He was never really that good at small talk.</p>
<p>“... So what do you want from Allura?” Asked Lance.</p>
<p>“Hmm?”</p>
<p>“What does Allura have that you want?”</p>
<p>“... Allura is a Ventrue.” Said Keith. “Her blood has amazing properties. It’s said that the Venture are direct blood descendants from the original vampire before our other strains came into existence. Their blood is said to cure all kinds of vampire illnesses and blood curses. Being a day walker is an illness in my blood.”</p>
<p>“... You want Allura’s blood to cure you of your half human side?”</p>
<p>“Yes… But I honestly do not know what the outcome will be.” Said Keith. “Her blood will either turn me into a full human or a full vampire. I just want to be a full something. Being half this and half that us just… I feel like I’m stuck between two worlds…”</p>
<p>“Oh… That’s pretty rough.”</p>
<p>“Yeah.” Keith sighed and looked down at Lance, still hidden in the tarp. “What can Allura give you?”</p>
<p>“Passage to Cuba and a seal of protection to enter a Catholic cemetery.”</p>
<p>Keith raised an eyebrow. “A Catholic cemetery?”</p>
<p>“Hey! You’re older than me!” Whined Lance. “You should know that religious symbols we were connected to in life become our poison in death!”</p>
<p>“True… There are many Shrines I can’t go to when I am in Asia.” Mused Keith. “But why a Catholic cemetery in Cuba?”</p>
<p>Lance sighed. “Well, when I was alive I had a family in Cuba. I became a vampire while they were still alive. My mama died without knowing what happened to me… And that’s not even mentioning my siblings and my niece and nephew. I want to say goodbye to them properly…”</p>
<p>“... Alright.” That was surprisingly wholesome. He didn’t realise Lance was such a family man. “If you love your family then why did you leave in the first place?”</p>
<p>“I joined the freak show to send money back home.” Said Lance. “Most of what I had was sent to them… I hope they didn’t die in poverty because of me.”</p>
<p>Keith frowned a little. “Lance, you didn’t have a choice. Your sire is a gross bitch. She just saw you and decided to take you. It’s disgusting… At least Shiro wanted to make me a ghoul to make up for shooting me with a vampire killing arrow.”</p>
<p>Lance laughed a little. “Yeah, I guess so… So, how much longer until I’m allowed out of the tarp?”</p>
<p>“Still a few hours.”</p>
<p>“I feel like we should hug now. We’ve really opened up to each other.”</p>
<p>“... Ew. Feelings.”</p>
<p>“I know.”</p>
<p>Keith sighed and stood up. “Well, I’m going to go for a walk. Be back in an hour.”</p>
<p>“What? Seriously?! You can’t just leave me!” Whined Lance.</p>
<p>Lance continued to whine loudly about Keith abandoning him, but Lance didn’t really care. He wanted to go for a walk to clear his head after all that emotional stuff. Not like Lance could follow him or anything.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Nagabiku shi</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The sun has finally set and Lance is finally allowed out of the burrito tarp! Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When the sun finally set again Keith pulled Lance out from under the car and unceremoniously rolled him out onto the dirt. The younger vampire whined at his treatment and Keith went back over to the bunker door and started kicking it. He was still pissed off at Lotor. </p>
<p>“OPEN UP FUCK FACE!” He yelled. “I WILL COME IN THERE, RIP YOUR HEAD OFF AND SKULL FUCK YOUR NECK STUMP!”</p>
<p>This somehow seemed to work and Lotor opened up the door. He looked a lot more put together than he did last night. He had an almost regal look about him and wasn’t a bloodied, whimpering shell of a man like he was.</p>
<p>“No need for that.” Said Lotor calmly. “I am back to normal now. I’m sorry I acted the way I did last night and I am sorry for throwing you two outside.”</p>
<p>“Can we just go now?” Whined Lance. “I wanna go home!”</p>
<p>Lotor nodded in agreement. “I would appreciate it if you would drop me back at my club. I need to relieve Acxa of her duty…”</p>
<p>The two vampires were a little reluctant, but let Lotor into the car. He sat in the backseat with Keith while Lance drove. Keith just glared at Lotor the whole time they were driving. Lotor just stared out the window and just watched the scenery go by.</p>
<p>“... I take it you two don’t trust me because of last night?”</p>
<p>“What gave you that idea?” Asked Lance sarcastically.</p>
<p>Lotor sighed loudly. “Look, I am sorry. I didn’t intend to try and murder you to via sun exposure. It just happened.” He took his phone out of his pocket and started to text someone. Presumable Acxa.</p>
<p>“Are you going to tell Honerva where you are?” Asked Keith.</p>
<p>Lotor shook his head. “I don’t have her number… If I call her there is a chance Haggar will pick up. I’d rather sit out in the sun then talk to that bitch.”</p>
<p>“Family troubles?” Asked Lance.</p>
<p>“You could say that.” Muttered Lotor. “Haggar is… She is very annoying. Anyway, why were you two in my bunker again?”</p>
<p>Keith sighed. “You know about the savaging thing that has been going on? Well you missed the meeting addressing it.” He gestured to Lance and himself. “This idiot and I have been asked by Allura, along with three other vampires to see if the savaging sickness going around is something that just happened naturally or if it’s happening because someone’s made an illness.”</p>
<p>Lotor raised an eyebrow. “A conspiracy huh? Well, this is serious… I will have a word with Allura  when I get back to my club… If you have to tell Honerva where I am just let her know that I am back at the club and she can call me there.”</p>
<p>“You really don’t want Haggar to find out where you are?” Asked Lance.</p>
<p>“Fuck no. She’s a bitch.”</p>
<p>The two shrugged and drove Lotor back to his club. Acxa was thankful that they were able to find Lotor and even bring him back. Lance made a big deal about how Lotor almost murdered them, but he shut up when Acxa was able to give him a pack of A+ blood. He pouted and sucked it dry.</p>
<p>Lotor took his seat at his desk and told them that while the investigation was going on that he and his staff would be cooperating with Allura. After that they were sent out and had to wait for a taxi to take them back to see Honerva.</p>
<p>Lance was still complaining though. “The never of it all!” He whined. “We both almost get murdered but noooo, we don’t get anything fancy for it. What the hell man? What is this?”</p>
<p>“... If you don’t shut your damn mouth I will lock you in the trunk.”</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Shiro yawned a little and woke up in a mess of tangled limbs. Curtis spooning him while Adam’s arms and legs were splayed across him. He attempted to get up, but as soon as he tried Curtis sank his fangs into his shoulder. Adam put his hand on Shiro’s face.</p>
<p>“No moving.” Grumbled Adam. “We’re staying in bed all night.”</p>
<p>“Come on guys I need to get out and do stuff.” Said Shiro as he lightly pushed his lover’s hand away. “Not tonight.”</p>
<p>“Stay in bed.” Muttered Curtis. He ran his tongue over the bite mark. “Can’t get out of bed if you’re too weak from blood loss.”</p>
<p>“Very true.” Said Adam. He held Shiro’s arm and lightly bit his wrist. “We’re going to make you so weak you’ll have to stay in bed with us. All night. Like a human.”</p>
<p>Shiro rolled his eyes and easily got out of bed. He checked the sunburns on his arm and they were pretty much all healed now. “I’m going to have a shower now. If you two want to stay in bed and mess around I’m not going to stop you.”</p>
<p>The other vampires whined but Shiro continued into the bathroom. He took his phone with him to see if Keith had messaged him but he hadn’t. Instead he saw a message from Hunk. </p>
<p>
  <strong>Hunk</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>You interested in coming with me to the Underdark?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Shiro</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>Underdark?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Hunk</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>That’s what the Nospheratu call the place where they live.</em>
  <br/>
  <em>The big boss of the place knows I’m coming down and I thought you might like to go?</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Because they have some cases of vampires in the early stages of savaging</em>
  <br/>
  <em>If we want to find out about the savaging cases we need to go to the source.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Shiro</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>Fairpoint.</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Is Pidge coming along?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Hunk</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>No. They are going to research historical cases of Vampire blood diseases</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Are Keith and Lance going to tag along?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Shiro</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>They are both still out doing whatever</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Keith will contact me when he can.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Hunk</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>Okay.</em>
  <br/>
  <em>I’ll send you the address.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Shiro</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>Thanks. See you there.</em>
</p>
<p>Shiro put his phone down and had a quick shower. Vampires didn’t sweat, but they could get pretty dirty. Especially since he and his lovers frequently had sex since they didn’t hunt vampires these days. They could spend nights together and go well into the morning when they really wanted to.</p>
<p>Now he couldn’t say he hated it, but he did feel kind of bad or Keith. Sure Keith was kind of a loner being half Gangrel and all, but Shiro did feel like they were drifting apart. He and Keith didn’t really have a romantic relationship. They were like brothers. Keith was his little brother. He needed to get it together.</p>
<p>Once he showered he went back to his room to find some clean clothes. His lovers were still in bed and sharing affectionate touches with each other. They both glanced over at him, almost daring him to leave tonight. It was very hard to resist them, but Shiro was strong when he needed to be.</p>
<p>He got dressed and looked over at them. “I’m going out for a bit. You two entertain yourselves while I’m out… And get yourselves some blood either tonight or tomorrow.”</p>
<p>“Come on Shiro…” Whined Adam. “You know you want to stay here. We always make it worth your while.” </p>
<p>“We always make you feel good.” Cooed Curtis. “It’ll be fun.”</p>
<p>Shiro had to bite back a groan. “Did I turn you two into vampires or succubi? You two are insatiable.”</p>
<p>Curtis shrugged. “Well both technically suck the life out of humans. Usually in liquid form.”</p>
<p>“We just prefer blood.” Added Adam.</p>
<p>Shiro just shook his head. “Insatiable. The both of you.” With that he left the apartment and went to meet up with Hunk. </p>
<p>His directions led Hunk to a back alley where he was waiting. Hunk smiled a little at him and pulled up the manhole cover. “Thanks for coming along man. So it’s a little tricky to get to the underdark, but once you know they way it’s pretty easy.”</p>
<p>He climbed down and Shiro followed him, quickly moving the manhole cover back in place. The two of them were in the stormwater drains and not the sewer. That would have been nasty. Shiro just quietly followed Hunk for a few minutes while he tried to remember where they were going.</p>
<p>“So… How did you find the Underdark?” He asked.</p>
<p>Hunk shrugged. “It isn’t a huge secret and I found it while just exploring. As long as you don’t cause too much trouble, the Nosferatu don’t mind who walks through their territory. When you cause trouble that’s when they take issue.”</p>
<p>“Right… Who’s the clan leader?”</p>
<p>“You remember Shay right? Well, it’s her father.” Said Hunk. “He used to be a pretty famous singer back when he was human… It sounds so bad now but he used to be called the Golden Dick.”</p>
<p>“... Please tell me his name is Richard.”</p>
<p>Hunk chuckled a little. “Yeah. Still goes by Dick. Heard his wife call him Dicky too. The golden part comes from the fact he was a good singer. So like, golden vocal cords and stuff… He was a vaudeville actor.”</p>
<p>“Ah, alright.”</p>
<p>“He’s really nice. Usual sense of nihilistic humor that most Nosferatu have.” Hunk took Shiro into a small maintenance room filled with pipes, pressure gauges and lockers. “Alright, here we go…” Hunk shoved the lockers hard and they swung back like a door. On the other side was a dug out looking tunnel that went further into the darkness. “Welcome to the Underdark.”</p>
<p>Shiro walked in and followed Hunk down some more winding tunnels. Soon the way was lit up by fairy lights and random neon signs. He saw a stolen fast food neon logo next to a neon sign the proudly proclaimed sex, sex, sex.</p>
<p>They eventually got to a large cavern area that just spiraled downwards into deeper darkness. He saw a few Nosferatu walking around on the lower levels. Some would look up at them but didn’t pay them much mind.</p>
<p>“... I didn’t realise that there were so many of them living here?”</p>
<p>Hunk shrugged. “It is how it is.” He ducked into a hall in the wall and walked along a slightly more narrow path. </p>
<p>Shiro followed him and saw that the path was covered in old posters. Eventually they made it to a room covered in candles with some old furniture. An older looking Nosferatu was sitting in a chair and got up to meet him.</p>
<p>“Hey Hunk. Good to see you again.” He pulled Hunk into a one armed hug and Hunk hugged back. </p>
<p>“Hey Dick. Good to see you again.” Said Hunk. “So this is Shiro he’s um… He’s kind of an ex vampire hunter? But he’s totally on our side and everything.”</p>
<p>Shiro offered his hand to him. “It is nice to meet you. It’s always a pleasure to meet a clan leader.”</p>
<p>Dick nodded and firmly gripped Shiro’s hand. “And it’s always a pleasure to meet different vamps in the Underdark. Look, I don’t know what Hunk taught you, but down here things are a little different. Just keep your head down, and don’t cause too much trouble. If you happen to walk into someone’s house by accident just walk out.”</p>
<p>“Noted.”</p>
<p>Dick nodded and looked back at Hunk. “Shay’s not in tonight. She and Rax are out hitting up the blood banks and hospitals. We need some test kits… Best we can do is give some of the blood we got to already infected vampires and see if it makes them worse…”</p>
<p>Hunk frowned. “We’re doing what we can… We still don’t know where the start of the outbreak is…”</p>
<p>“I know.” Said Dick. “You gotta do what you gotta do. Just saying test kits would be helpful. My clan is dying and not peacefully either.” He nodded back towards the tunnel they walked through. “You know where it is.”</p>
<p>“Yeah… Thanks Dick. We’ll see you soon.” Hunk gestured for Shiro to follow him and the two vampires went down a level and through another tunnel. They walked into a cavern with cages built into the walls. Almost all of them were full of Nosferatu and Brujah, but there might have been a few others from different clans. It was hard for Shiro to tell.</p>
<p>The uninfected Nosferatu stood around and nodded over at the two of them. A few even waved and Hunk waved back. “Hey guys. What’s happening?”</p>
<p>One of them shrugged. “Long and short of it? Moral is low. Lower than low. We’re just sitting around waiting for everyone to die a final death. Sucks. Fucking hate it. We aren’t even allowed to end their suffering until savaging starts…”</p>
<p>One of the other Nosferatu growled and dkicked at some rocks. “They can’t even die with dignity. Like, what the fuck?”</p>
<p>“I know this is frustrating.” Said Hunk calmly. “But we are all really trying our best to fix this. I-”</p>
<p>“Back!” Called a tall Nosferatu. They walked through a small passageway over the other side of the cavern. He had a large duffle bag and dumped it in front of some Nosferatu standing around. They grabbed the bag and started taking out blood packs and quickly went around and started giving a small bit of blood to the already sick vampires.</p>
<p>Hunk smiled nervously at the Nosferatu that came in with the duffle bag. “Hey Rax…”</p>
<p>Rax glared at him. “Hunk.”</p>
<p>“... So um, you and Shay went out to-”</p>
<p>“Don’t bother. Just… Just leave her alone.” He muttered. “You’ve caused her enough trouble.”</p>
<p>Hunk seemed disappointed but didn’t skip a beat. “So how bad is it?”</p>
<p>Rax gestured to all the cells. “Look around you Hunk. What the fuck do you think? Thirty infected, seven dead. Thirteen of them are borderline close to start savaging. We have no idea what the fuck we’re meant to do. We can’t be picky with our food! If we don’t eat we will die!” Rax continued to yell and let out his frustrations while Shiro went and looked at the sick and spiraling vampires.</p>
<p>A lot of them were emaciated and their eyes were sunken in. Some of the more worse off vampires looked like they had very thin skin and looked like they were gasping for breath. They had lesions all over their skin. Some of them looked self inflicted by the way that they were digging their claws into their arms and legs.</p>
<p>He had seen similar diseases in the past. Most of them were a lot more fast acting than this. He has seen clans wiped out by illnesses similar to this. He looked into a cell where one vampire was laying on the ground, practically gasping while clawing at their chest. Almost all of their gums had receded into nothing.</p>
<p>“... Nagabiku shi.” He muttered.</p>
<p>“What was that?” Asked Hunk. He looked like he had finally escaped Rax berating him. </p>
<p>Shiro shrugged. “Nagabiku shi. It means lingering death. It’s just a common name we used to call most illnesses that affect undead creatures… To be fair most undead illnesses that happen to us just make us suffer and break down faster until we die. Nagabiku shi. Lingering death.”</p>
<p>“Yeah…” Hunk sighed and rubbed his temples. “Well… I wish there was something I could do… I know everyone here is probably a lost cause but I… I don’t know… This is crazy… I hope no one else gets sick…”</p>
<p>“Same.” Muttered Shiro. “No one deserves to die like this… Becoming a vampire is hard enough without this.”</p>
<p>Hunk nodded in agreement. “Yeah… I hope it doesn’t spread anymore I… If Shay gets sick I… I don’t want to think about it.”</p>
<p>Shiro nodded and patted Hunk’s back. “We’ll figure this out. It will be okay.”</p>
<p>“I hope so.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. The run around</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>It's been a little while, have another chapter. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Getting back to see Honerva was pretty easy for the duo. Though Keith was pretty sure that just staying around the other vampire was giving him a migraine. He just wanted to go home and sleep for a bit, but nope. It didn’t seem like this was how it was. Keith and Lance, attached at the fucking hip.</p><p>When they got to Honerva’s office they went to knock on the door, but before they did they heard voices behind the door. Two women. Angry shouting.</p><p>“You’re always like this!”</p><p>“Says the woman who couldn’t keep her legs shut.”</p><p>“Oh, so I am the bad guy for loving who I love? Snake! Snake! Snake!”</p><p>“Please, you’re a fool. Always trying to coddle your brat.”</p><p>“He’s your nephew! He’s not a brat!”</p><p>“He is a brat! An irresponsible child that doesn’t know what he is doing with life! You handed him everything on a silver platter. You ruined him! You ruined your brat!”</p><p>“... I will not be lectured by you!” The sound of a door slamming from behind the door was harsh and made both male vampires cringe a little.</p><p>Lance awkwardly knocked on the door and slowly opened it up. “Hello?”</p><p>A hunched over woman was angrily running her fingers through her greasy looking hair. She glared at the two of them and snarled. “Oh, so you two are the fools that whore asked for help in finding that disgusting halfbreed?”</p><p>“In the flesh.” Said Lance as he bowed. “Lance McClain. It is an honour to make your acquaintance. You must be Haggar?” </p><p>Haggar looked mildly disgusted when she looked down at him and even more disgusted when she saw Keith. “Ah, nother vampire dog huh? How… Disgusting. Your clan is an abomination. Too close to werewolves. Wolf fuckers. Disgusting.”</p><p>“Whoa, no need for name calling here.” Said Lance. “Is Honerva around? We have a meeting with her.”</p><p>“Let me guess, the stupid bitch is still looking for her son?” Snapped Haggar. “You two are idiots. Do you really think she is going to help you once she gets what she wants? No. Honerva is self driven. Give her what she wants then she will forget all about what your deal was. Just forget it. Completely. Gone… Allura wants complete cooperation from all the clubs, correct?”</p><p>“Yeah, that’s right…” Muttered Keith. “What’s your counter off then?”</p><p>Haggar smirked. “I see you know how this game is played… I have an acquaintance… They went and did something regretful. So now I need to show them that this isn’t how things are done in this city. I feel like it’s much more up your alley than being little errand boys for that tramp.” </p><p>They took a dagger out of their belt and held it out to them. Keith took the dagger and frowned at it. He could feel old magic flowing through it. “You want us to kill something with this?”</p><p>“Four paintings. They are in that stupid pop up art exhibition. Stab them and you’ll get all the help you need. Guaranteed. Putting that person in their place is more than enough for me to make sure that the vampire princess gets what she needs. Help yourself to any cash you can get out of the lock box that’s there.”</p><p>“Of course.” Said Lance as he quickly pulled Keith out of the room. “We’ll be back in a moment.” As soon as they were out of there Lance shuddered. “She’s so scary!”</p><p>“Are we actually going to destroy some paintings?”</p><p>“Yeah. Look, Honerva’s okay and all, but Haggar is a raging bitch.” Warned Lance. “You do not say no to her.” </p><p>“Fine. Petty vandalism it is… Where is this place?”</p><p>“Follow me. I know where all the art stuff is.” It was a twenty minute walk to the art exhibit. It was in a small building that looked like it was some kind of rental building. Nothing fancy. Could have been a shoe shop last week. Lance happily walked behind the building and started to pick the lock.</p><p>“You can pick locks?”</p><p>“I’m more than a pretty face and a tight ass.”</p><p>Keith huffed and went to be the look out for the other vampire. “Never said either of those.”</p><p>“Aw, you think I’m more than that?” Cooed Lance.</p><p>“Nope. You neither have a pretty face nor a tight ass.”</p><p>Lance gasped at the indignation. “Excuse me! While beauty is subjective, my ass is tighter than a one inch nut! You wanna see how tight I really am?”</p><p>“Not into necrophilia.” Said Keith. “Sorry.”</p><p>Lance huffed and went back to opening the door. “Vampires are already dead and shit. You telling me you haven’t fucked another vampire because of that? Really?”</p><p>“Oh, I’ve fucked while I’ve been a vampire. Just not you.”</p><p>“Rude.” The door unlocked and Lance pushed it open. “Ta-da! It is open.” The two of them walked inside and Lance started gushing at everything. He talked about art terms that Keith had never heard of before. He didn’t really care. He just wanted to find the paintings that Haggar wanted destroyed and to do it. “Such a shame.” Said Lance. “I love art… It’s eternally pretty… What ones are we meant to destroy anyway?”</p><p>Keith gestured to the ones on the wall. “Probably these.”</p><p>“Oh! Let me see them first before you ruin them.”</p><p>Keith was fine with doing that and stood back to let Lance look at them. Keith didn’t know too much about art, but he knew about storytelling through images and he knew about religion. The paintings were depicting a more ethnically accurate depiction of Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. The next painting was Adam and Eve getting thrown out of Eden. Then a picture of Cain and Abel. Then Cain getting cursed by God for murdering Abel.</p><p>Keith chuckled a little to himself. Most Western vampires considered Cain as the possible progenitor of the Vampire strain in the Middle East and some parts of Europe. Other vampires in some parts of Europe hated this idea and claimed that Vlad III, or Vlad the Impaler as the true progenitor of European vampires. Haggar probably saw these paintings as an abomination because she thought they were promoting Cain as a vampire.</p><p>“They are so beautiful!” Gasped Lance. “Look at that linework and shading! It’s so amazing! I love it! Do we have to destroy them? Maybe take them? Haggar doesn’t really need to-” Before Lance could finish Keith stabbed one of the paintings and sliced through it, smirking at Lance the whole time. “... You uncultured swine!”</p><p>“Damn right.” Keith continued to slice and cut into the paintings. Because of the enchanted nature of the knife Haggar gave them the paint seemed to bubble and hiss, happily dripping off the canvas and onto the floor. He continued to cut up the paintings while Lance huffed and went to see if there was any money in the lockbox at the desk near the front.</p><p>When they were done, the duo exited out the backdoor and walked back to talk to Haggar. Lance sighed dramatically as he counted the money in his hands. “I swear to Allura that if those crazy vampire bitches decide that we need to go on another errand I’m just gonna go back to Allura and tell her they aren’t cooperating. She’ll rain hell on those bitches!”</p><p>“You’re tired of this aren’t you?”</p><p>“Yes. I want to sleep in my own bed now. I miss my egyptian cotton sheets again.”</p><p>Keith shook his head and looked at the money Lance was counting. “So… How much money did you get?”</p><p>“Three hundred. Want half?”</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>Lance easily split the cash and handed over Keith’s share. When they got back to the club the bouncer almost looked annoyed that they were back again, but let them in regardless. Before they got knocked on the door they heard the sisters blow up at each other again.</p><p>“YOU MADE THEM DO WHAT TO MY ART SHOW?!” Screeched Honerva.</p><p>“Serves you right!” Snapped Haggar. “Stupid bitch! Know your place! Lotor is a disgrace. You are a-”</p><p>“TWO FACED LYING SNAKE!”</p><p>“Oh go and cry to Zarkon! Bet you already called him didn’t you? He’s probably on his way right now isn’t he?”</p><p>“Yes… yes he is… And my loyal dog will help me bury the snake!”</p><p>“... What are you doing?”</p><p>“You’ve had this coming for centuries!”</p><p>“You stupid whore! Don’t you point that gun at me!”</p><p>Hearing that one of them had a gun, the two vampires quickly rushed into the room. Instead of two women standing in the room there was only one. This woman was standing in the middle of the room with a gun pointed to her forehead. She looked like a mess with her makeup smeared and her hair haphazardly done up in a bun, but most of it was left out.</p><p>She looked over at them and glared at them. “What are you two idiots doing? This moron is trying to kill me.”</p><p>“Kill you?” Asked Honerva in a cold voice. “The final death would be too sweet for a repugnant snake like you. I will maim you and have my loyal dog bury your serpent form.”</p><p>Keith looked over at Lance and gave him a confused look. Lance just shrugged and gestured to the gun. They needed to get the gun away from them before they could figure out what to do. Keith, being the less inept with his words gestured for Lance to say something.</p><p>The other vampire cleared his throat and tried to calm the situation down. “Okay, let’s just put the weapons down and talk about this… Honerva, you don’t really want to shoot Haggar, right? Haggar is your sister. Sure she might be a little rough around the edges, but you love her right?”</p><p>“She… She wants to hurt Lotor… I CAN’T LET HER HURT LOTOR!”</p><p>“HONERVA!” The two vampires turned to see a beast of a vampire standing in the doorway. They looked more like a monster than they did a vampire. They ignored Lance and Keith in favour of walking over to the vampire in crisis. “Honerva…”</p><p>“Zarkon…” Whimpered Honerva. “I- I need to do this.”</p><p>“No you don’t.” Said Zarkon calmly. “Just put the gun down… Look outside. The moon is beautiful tonight. How about we go for a walk? It’ll be nice. Just you and me.” As they talked their more beastial vampire form slowly morphed into a more human one. He reached his hand out to her and smiled softly. “Come one Honerva. Leave your sister behind and we will have a talk about this later.”</p><p>“B-but… Lotor…”</p><p>“Is back at his club. He called me before you called me. He is safe.”</p><p>“Oh… Thank goodness.” Honerva dropped the gun and breathed a sigh of relief. “He’s safe… he’s safe…”</p><p>“He is.” The older vampire gently embraced her into a hug and looked over at the other two finally acknowledging them. “Allura’s lackies I assume?”</p><p>“To an extent.” Said Lance. “Look, we worked for both Haggar and Honerva to get their help. We are going to tell Allura what we did and what we expect out of this. Lotor’s also agreed to our dealings.”</p><p>Zarkon huffed a little and rolled his eyes. “Yes, yes. Honerva will help but please leave for the night… She needs rest. Tonight has been… It’s been trying for her.”</p><p>“... You know I can’t really just leave with your word.” Said Lance calmly. “Your history with Allura is… You did kill her father.”</p><p>“That was decades before your time.” Said Zarkon calmly. “I don’t care for trying to rule all vampires anymore… I just want what is best for my clan. Like all vampires.”</p><p>“Yeah, well-”</p><p>“Let’s go Lance.” Said Keith calmly.</p><p>“What? Keith-”</p><p>“We’re going Lance! Now!”</p><p>Lance pouted but followed Keith out of the club. He seemed kind of mad and confused that Keith pulled them away so quickly like that. He looked like he was going to snap at him when Keith held his hand up to shut him the fuck up.</p><p>“Look, I don’t know about Zarkon’s history with Alfor and Allura, but I know Gangrel’s. Zarkon will keep his word on this. I can feel it. I’m a Gangrel too. I’m better at telling when someone is lying… Even if he is lying we can just tell Allura and she can deal with any insubordination.”</p><p>“... Okay fair. Meet up at Allura’s place tomorrow?”</p><p>“Sounds good to me.” Said Keith. “I’ve had my fill of enough weird vampire shit for tonight. I wanna go home and sleep… Hope everyone else isn’t fucking.”</p><p>“... Why not join them?”</p><p>Keith glared at Lance. “I’m going to call you a taxi now and you’ll get into it. If you fucking speak another word about having sex with my sire and his lovers again I will throw you under the first bus that comes this way.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Group update at the penthouse</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Man it has been a hot minute once again. I just didn't have much in the way of ideas, but here we are now! Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy! :D</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next evening the vampires went to Allura’s penthouse to inform her of what they had found out so far. Shiro and Hunk talked about what they had talked to with the Nosferatu. Pidge talked about past cases of bloodborne pathogens and how they affected vampires. She took everything pretty calmly until Keith and Lance delivered their report.</p><p>“I don’t believe you.” Said Allura. “There is no way Zarkon doesn’t want to usurp my position and take over as the leader of Arus.”</p><p>“Now, now, Allura.” Said Coran calmly. “Please calm down. I know this isn’t an excuse, but Zarkon did kill your father several centuries ago. His priorities could have changed for many reasons.”</p><p>“You can’t be serious.” Said Allura in shock. “Zarkon is behind this and-”</p><p>“His clan is going to wipe you out.” Said Pidge calmly. Everyone seemed surprised that she would speak so calmly about the possible end of Allura’s clan. “Look, Zarkon’s clan is super huge. If they can get their heads together they can take over the whole city… Just imagine what would happen to the human population.”</p><p>Hunk gulped. “I know I’m like the youngest vampire here, but even I know how important it is to stay hidden… We’d have a full on war on our hands. Not just here, but all over the world… Do you really think Zarkon will expose us just to claim the city? What happens after that?”</p><p>Allura frowned and crossed her arms. “I don’t even want to think about what will happen if… The last time he tried something like this he was planning on farming humans.” That surprised everyone. “He wanted to forcibly farm humans. Capture them and treat them like cattle. They would know we exist and would periodically drain humans for their blood while keeping them locked up in captivity.”</p><p>“So like battery farming?” Asked Pidge.</p><p>“Precisely.” Said Coran. “Those were very dangerous days. It is most unfortunate, but the truth of the matter is that we all know the importance of blood and how our reliance on it is both a blessing and a curse. We’ve seen and heard of several cases of our kind trying to keep a steady source of blood with um… varying results.”</p><p>Allura nodded in agreement. “For those of you too young to remember there have been several attempts to farm humans on a much smaller scale. The largest case of vampire blood farming would have been Countess Elizabeth Bathory. She was a Ventrue, but she was a greedy bitch. No love lost over her demise.”</p><p>“Keith and I have seen this before.” Said Shiro calmly. “Some vampires will think that they are the superior being and will try to show their superiority by having pens full of young humans… They would even parade the ones they thought the most beautiful around as pets… It’s disgusting.”</p><p>“I couldn’t agree more.” Said Allura. “Humans should be allowed to run free. At the very least it gives their blood better flavour and variety. Plus humans tend to get very stabby when they think they are being hunted… Which is why I have those laws for vampires in place to begin with. If everyone could just follow the rules things would be so much easier…”</p><p>Coran patted her shoulder. “I know Princess, but some vampires are terribly reckless brutes.”</p><p>“I know… Anyway, what information have you found out Pidge?”</p><p>Pidge shrugged and adjusted their glasses. “No offence Princess, but we haven’t really documented our history very well. We also aren’t that medically inclined either. I mean seriously, the furthest back I can go is like three or for years before I was born. The thing with the most information I could find was some crackpot theory about how a Gangrel infected with rabies birthed the first werewolves.”</p><p>Keith rolled his eyes at that. “Everyone always blames the Gangrels…”</p><p>Pidge ignored him. “Apart from that there are a few other rather nasty blood diseases that we’ve been able to catch and carry. Everyone remember the disaster that was the AIDS pandemic?” Everyone groaned in annoyance. It was the main reason most vampires switched to blood packs in the first place. If they didn’t drain their victims after they fed off someone with HIV then they could spread it. “There are also some more rabies related diseases that humans carry. Lots of them actually carry it but don’t even know it. They are ticking time bombs to us vampires.”</p><p>“Shiro and I had a case like that.” Said Keith calmly. “We were somewhere north of China in a remote village. We had heard of a village that could kill vampires. Even the babies could. We quickly found out that their blood was poisoned. When they offered food and drink to a forigen guest they would mix their own blood in with it and it would kill a vampire in minutes.”</p><p>“Seriously? How did you find out?” Asked Hunk.</p><p>“Before they fed us we were able to get information regarding myths and legends. Apparently the whole town is related in some way to some priest who had magic blood.” Said Keith. “Some kind of genetic anomaly. Shiro and I have been back to the village every few decades but the blood that made them special has become diluted over time.”</p><p>“There are probably other people out there with a natural immunity to vampires.” Said Pidge. “Too bad they can’t be tested for it… Anyway, with that in mind, whoever has done this or is doing this has to have some kind of modern medical background.”</p><p>“Or they know someone with a medical background and are bribing them.” Said Lance. “A vampire could be holding some human’s family hostage or promised to turn them into a vampire or ghoul.”</p><p>Allura groaned in annoyance. “Okay… Fine… I can deal with that… Hunk, how the Nosferatu? Are they faring any better?”</p><p>Hunk shook his head. “Look, I don’t want to say it but all the Nosferatu are thinking it… They want to cut their losses and leave. Dick’s the only one keeping it all in check, but even he’s starting to waver… If something isn’t done about this really soon then they are going to leave the city.”</p><p>“They have been here for decades…” Muttered Allura. She thought long and hard about what she had been told. “... Alright. Pidge, you continue to get information about blood diseases related to vampires. Hunk, try and convince the Nosferatu to stay. Lance and Keith, I want you two to investigate some of the other clubs. Not just the one that Lotor runs. Shiro, if Pidge or Hunk need your help to gather information from some… unwilling vampires, I expect you to help them out.”</p><p>“Sure thing Princess.” Said Lance with a smile and a wink.</p><p>Allura ignored him and ushered her team out of her penthouse. She didn’t mind if they decided to go ahead and work on it tonight or the next. She needed some time to think this over.</p><p>Once they were gone Allura sat on her loveseat and gestured for Coran to bring her phone over. The ever dutiful man went and quickly gathered it for her. He gladly handed it to her and went to get her a drink.</p><p>“So, what do you think?” He asked. “Do you really think that Zarkon-?”</p><p>“Yes.” She said calmly. “Zarkon is up to something. That bastard has his bloodstained fingers everywhere. He is a monster… But maybe Lotor will be of some assistance?”</p><p>Coran frowned. “Lotor?”</p><p>“Yes. I had my suspicions that Loto might be a hybrid but now that it has been confirmed, I can use this to my advantage.”</p><p>Coran shook his head as he handed her the drink. “That seems a little… Well, I guess the Vampire princess must play a little dirty if she wishes to stay on top.”</p><p>“Indeed.” She happily sipped her drink and called Lotor.</p><p><em>“Allura, to what do I owe the pleasure?”</em> Asked Lotor.</p><p>“Good to know you are back.” She said calmly. “Now, I expect your full cooperation with our investigation. I know you aren’t very happy with Zarkon…”</p><p>
  <em>“And let me guess, your lackeys told you who my parents are?”</em>
</p><p>“Precisely. So you can guess where I am going with this.”</p><p>
  <em>“Blackmail?”</em>
</p><p>“Is there any other kind of mail?”</p><p><em>“Fair enough.”</em> Lotor sighed slightly on his end of the line. <em>“Well, I will do what I can. It’s hard enough being a vampire without having to worry about the majority of vampires hunting you down.”</em></p><p>“I’d think so… So here is what you are going to do for me Lotor.”</p><p>
  <em>“I am all ears Princess.”</em>
</p><p>“You are going to find out everything you can going on with Zarkon and if your mother Honerva, or aunt Haggar knows anything about his plans.” Said Allura calmly. “I know you have a vague idea of what I am talking about. Don’t let me down.”</p><p><em>“Are you going to sweeten the deal for me?”</em> Asked Lotor. <em>“Look, saving face is good and all, but I would appreciate it a little more if I got something in return?”</em></p><p>Allura rolled her eyes. She wasn’t unfamiliar with these kinds of vampires. By nature vampires were greedy. Lotor was a young looking man and young men usually bent over backwards for one thing and one thing only… and if they weren’t interested in women she could usually talk to Lance about it and if he was bored he would help out.</p><p>“Well, if you help me I’m sure I can make it worth your while.” She said in a sultry tone. “I have a bit of experience. For a few years in the 1700’s I was nicknamed the succubus Queen.”</p><p><em>“Hmm, I have heard the stories.”</em> He said. <em>“You do make things interesting.”</em></p><p>“Are you interested?”</p><p>
  <em>“Very tempting, but I do make it a policy to wine and dine my lovers before I bed them.”</em>
</p><p>Allura raised an eyebrow. “Oh really now? Such a gentleman.”</p><p>
  <em>“Sarcasm is unbecoming of you Princess.”</em>
</p><p>“So is bedding the vampire princess not good enough for you?”</p><p>
  <em>“Oh no, it is a very generous offer and I do humbly accept. However I am still insistent on wining and dining you first.”</em>
</p><p>“Well I gladly accept your request. However I need information first.”</p><p>
  <em>“Fair enough. I shall be in touch with you soon.”</em>
</p><p>Allura hung up and passed her phone to Coran to plug it back in for her. She didn’t fully trust Lotor, but she needed someone on the inside and close to Lotor. She frowned and finished her drink.</p><p>“Coran? Can I ask you a question?”</p><p>“Of course. What is it?”</p><p>“Am I doing a bad job taking care of my people?” She asked. “The Nosferatu are threatening to leave. They and the Brujah are getting sick. The Gangrel are slowly taking over, but they are all unorganised… I need to end this quickly. If I don’t get on top of this soon then everything that my parents tried to build… Their legacy will end and I…”</p><p>He put his hand on her shoulder. “Princess, I know that no matter what happens you will pull through. You always do, and you will always have my support.” He smiled kindly at her. “I am your family's ghoul after all.”</p><p>“I know. Thank you Coran. Your service is something I will never take for granted.”</p><p>He smiled and quickly grabbed her coat. “Well now that all that political nastiness is over for tonight, are you ready to go to that boy band you have recently become infatuated with?”</p><p>Allura chuckled and put the coat on. “Of course I am. I just adore the raw vocal talents of that spry young man. I believe his name is… Michael? No… That’s not what he goes by… Mick Jagger. Such an energetic young 76 year old.”</p><p>“The band is called Rolled Stones?”</p><p>“Rolling stones.” She corrected. “Now no more talking. Let’s have some fun.”</p><p>***</p><p>Keith was headbutting the wall in the apartment. Adam and Curtis had been taking turns to put something in front of his face to see if he would crack it, crush it, or break his forehead. They had gone through a whole box of crackers and a small cardboard box.</p><p>“Are you going to stop this anytime soon?” Asked Curtis as he put another cracker in front of Keith’s head. Keith headbutted the wall and smashed the cracker again.</p><p>Adam rolled his eyes and put several crackers in front of Keith’s forehead. “Just let him be. Shiro said that Keith was going to have to spend more time with Lance.”</p><p>“The Toreador?” Asked Curtis.</p><p>“The very same.” Said Adam. “Now Keith has to hang out with him more. Keith doesn’t like him very much.”</p><p>“Oh… Just bite him or something?”</p><p>“Kinky.”</p><p>“I didn’t mean it like that.”</p><p>Keith groaned and brushed some crumbs off his forehead. “Just stab me with a burn me. I’m done with this shit. I’m done. He’s annoying. I hate him. Kill me. Better yet, kill him.”</p><p>Adam smirked. “I think Keith has a crush on someone.”</p><p>“I think so too.” Cooed Curtis.</p><p>Keith stopped and glared at them. “I’m going to set you both on fire!”</p><p>Shiro walked into the room, brushing his teeth. “Who is setting who on fire and… Okay, why do we have crackers? Who bought crackers? We’re vampires! We don’t eat crackers?!”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Unpleasant</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Lotor be scheming and Keith is once again trying very, very hard not to murder Lance. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Keith didn’t need to sleep as long as his fully vampire counterparts. If needed, he could just sleep for about an hour before he could function normally again. He usually spent this time reading or watching TV… Anything to distract him from the damn threeway Shiro was currently having with his lovers. The horny bastards had been going at it for hours.</p>
<p>He really needed to get some noise canceling headphones. It was annoying as hell. He turned the shitty little TV they had up a little louder after he heard a particularly loud moan from Curtis. It was kind of annoying that Keith knew who was who from their moans.</p>
<p>His phone suddenly started to buzz and Keith was quick to pick up the phone. It was a message from Lance, but it was a photo… of you young blond woman in a pink bra.</p>
<p>
  <strong>Keith</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>What the fuck is this?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Lance</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>Smash or eat?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Keith</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>What?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Lance</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>I’d totally drink her blood. She looks sexy.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Keith</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>She looks sexy, yet you want to eat her? Not fuck her?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Lance</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>To be fair I can do both.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Keith</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>You disgust me on a cellular level</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Lance</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>You are no fun.</em>
</p>
<p>Lance then sent Keith a photo of a young looking man wearing a speedo/</p>
<p>
  <em>Smash or eat?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Keith</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>I will walk over to your place and shove a UV light up your ass.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Lance</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>Kinky</em>
  <br/>
  <em>But if you want to come over and warm my bed I’m not going to object to it.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Keith</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>And why would I want to go over to your place?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Lance</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>Three reasons;</em>
  <br/>
  <em>I’m bored</em>
  <br/>
  <em>We’re going to have to meet up tonight anyway</em>
  <br/>
  <em>I have a very cute ass and a big dick</em>
</p>
<p>Keith was about to text Lance and tell him to fuck off when he heard Adam make a noise like he was hitting his orgasm. The third fucking one of the day. Keith felt his eye twitch in annoyance. He had two options; stay and risk stabbing all three horny morons, or go to Lance’s place and spend a few hours with him. A second death might be more preferable to this. Against his better judgement he texted Lance</p>
<p>
  <strong>Keith</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>I’m only coming over because Shiro and his lovers are fucking.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Lance</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>And they didn’t invite you?</em>
  <br/>
  <em>Rude.</em>
  <br/>
  <em>I’ll get Rolo to let you in. He’s playing COD at the moment.</em>
</p>
<p>Keith quickly left a note for Shiro and stuck it to the door before pulling on a jacket and a hat. Just because he was immune to sunlight didn’t mean he wasn’t slightly paranoid about maybe getting a little vaporised by the sun.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>When he got to the Toreador’s building, Rolo did let him in. The Ghoul seemed unimpressed about having to let someone in. He vaguely gestured to the stairs and said that Lance’s room was the one by the dolphin painting.</p>
<p>Keith had no idea what to expect and just walked into the room that Lance was supposedly staying in. The tanned vampire was happily sprawled out on blood red silk sheets while wearing a sinfully short sky blue silk robe. He winked at Keith, but before he could say anything, Keith walked over to him and punched him square in the face.</p>
<p>“Ow! What the fuck Keith?!” Snapped Lance as he rubbed his face.</p>
<p>“I’m not a fucking booty call.” He growled.</p>
<p>Lance pouted and crossed his arms. “Wow, you really think so little of me? How do you know this isn’t what I usually wear when I go to bed?”</p>
<p>“Oh really now?”</p>
<p>“... Okay fine. It’s not what I usually wear.”</p>
<p>“Knew it.”</p>
<p>“I’m usually naked.”</p>
<p>Keith glared at Lance for a few seconds before he punched him again. “Fuck off.”</p>
<p>Lance growled and lunged at Keith, grabbing him and pulling him onto the bed. He was surprisingly strong. Which shocked Keith. Lance must have recently fed. The tanned vampire pinned Keith under him, and Keith could smell some blood on his breath. </p>
<p>“A fresh one?” He asked.</p>
<p>Lance nodded. “Yeah. Picked her up after we left Allura’s.”</p>
<p>“Did you kill her?”</p>
<p>“No. She would have woken up in a relatively nice motel room by now.” Said Lance. “A+ blood is the best… Plus she was a donor, so she was doing me a service.”</p>
<p>Keith rolled his eyes. “Whatever. Get the fuck off me.”</p>
<p>“Hmm, no.”</p>
<p>“No?”</p>
<p>Lance smirked and leaned in close to him. “No. You look quite sexy under me.”</p>
<p>“... I am going to beat the ever loving shit out of you.”</p>
<p>“Good thing I’m a masochist.”</p>
<p>“Piss off.” Growled Keith. “I came here to get the fuck away from horny little shits like you.”</p>
<p>Lance let out an exasperated sigh and rolled off of Keith. “Fine… What do you do when you have nothing to do, and you’re awake?”</p>
<p>“Read and watch TV.” Muttered Keith as he sat up. “What do you do? Besides fuck.”</p>
<p>“Hey, I also read.” Whined Lance. “When you’re undead you can read all the books… I’m currently reading anomorphs.”</p>
<p>“Good for you.”</p>
<p>Lance frowned as he looked at him. “So… You don’t want to read some books with me?”</p>
<p>“I thought I was a booty call?”</p>
<p>“I thought you said you weren’t?”</p>
<p>“I’m not.”</p>
<p>“I know, I just… Well, I kind of assumed that since you don’t die in the sun that you might be up.” Said Lance. “And well… Everyone else is kind of sleeping, apart from the ghouls. But I don’t like the ghouls. They are mean… They don’t really care for any vampires that aren’t the ones that turned them… It’s pretty shitty...”</p>
<p>“... So you called me over?”</p>
<p>“Yeah…” Lance sighed sadly. “... Look, if you want to leave you can… I just wanted to talk to someone for a bit, and you’re interesting… If you want to leave it’s fine. I’ll see you later tonight.” Lance actually kind of looked sad for once. Which was kind of disturbing for Keith.</p>
<p>“... So, anomorphs huh?”</p>
<p>Lance looked up at him and grinned. He went over to a bookshelf and started to pull books off the shelf. He started babbling on and on about stuff, that Keith didn’t really understand. But hey, Lance was a much younger vampire than him. He was pretty funny seeing him so excited about these kinds of things.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Lotor despised having dinner with his parents. Things were always tense. Hell, could this even be considered dinner? The trio sat around the dining room of their blackmarble home and drank glasses of fresh blood. At least tonight Honerva seemed to be the one in charge and not Haggar. But that could always change at the drop of a hat. Zarkon seemed to be walking on eggshells around her. Not unusual after she has prolonged episodes where Haggar is in control.</p>
<p>“Today, tomorrow, tomorrow and a day.” She rambled as she sipped her blood. “A moon so clear yet soon will be red. A blood moon. A harvest moon. Serpents lie within the grass pretending to eat the rats. Instead they turn to strike the farmers heel. Best we watch out for these snakes that pretend to be friends.”</p>
<p>“Yes dear.” Said Zarkon calmly. “Are these snakes here?”</p>
<p>“Snakes are everywhere and nowhere. Loose lips sink ships and dead men tell no secrets.”</p>
<p>“... Right.” Even he had trouble deciphering what Honerva was talking about some days. He turned his attention to his son. “Lotor… You vanished for a while. Where did you go?”</p>
<p>“I suffered a bout of insanity.” He said calmly. “I felt it coming on and figured that it would be best to hide away rather than let everyone know of my less than stellar, mixed bloodline.”</p>
<p>Zarkon made a noise that sounded like a growl. “Well, that aside, are you going to the arena any time soon?”</p>
<p>“I have no interest in neolithic bloodsports.”</p>
<p>“Yes you decided to establish yourself as a Gangrel.” Snarled Zarkon. “Everyone knows you as a Gangrel, even if you are half Malkavian. You haven’t been to the arena for months. Go there tonight. You don’t have to fight, just watch and be seen watching.”</p>
<p>“Is that an order, father?” Snarled Lotor right back at him. “Am I not allowed to just enjoy a peaceful undead existence? Not that I had much of a chance to enjoy life beforehand.”</p>
<p>“Don’t use that tone with me.” Growled Zarkon in a warning tone. “You are going there tonight. I’m going to get Sendak to take you there personally.”</p>
<p>Lotor rolled his eyes. Sendak was one the vampires that he liked the least. He was bloodthirsty, brutal and cunning. He only cared for himself and expanding the Gangrel territory. So all in all he was a very upstanding vampire. One to be admired. However this wasn’t the dark ages anymore. They couldn’t forcibly expand the way they used to. Just going into villages to slaughter and convert the population just wasn’t possible anymore. All expansion had to be sneaky and under the radar. Bloody difficult when every human was practically able to record their every move.</p>
<p>“Speak of the devil with forked tongue and from the pits they shall appear.” Mused Honerva.</p>
<p>There was a knock at the door and Zarkon glared at it. “Come in!” He barked. Sendak pushed the doors open and bowed at the leader of his clan. “Ah, Sendak. I was just about to call for you. What do I owe the pleasure?”</p>
<p>The man held up a file for him. “I was going to deliver to you the reports from last month’s fights in person. It felt more important to do this in person rather than over email or by mail. Those things have always lacked a personal touch.”</p>
<p>Zarkon held out his hand and Sendak gave him the papers. “A personal touch is always appreciated. I shall go over the numbers later this evening. Tonight, I wish for you to take Lotor to the arena. If he wishes to fight, let him. If he just wants to watch, let him. Just make sure people see him there.”</p>
<p>“Of course Zarkon.” Said Sendak. “Whatever task you desire I shall complete.”</p>
<p>“And once again I get no say.” Grumbled Lotor. He quickly finished off his blood and grabbed his coat. “Fine. Let us leave. I have no need to stay here any longer.” Zarkon dismissed the two of them and they left the building. They got straight into a sedan with tinted windows. </p>
<p>Sendak started driving. After a few minutes he spoke up. “Still hate the arena?”</p>
<p>“What gave that away?” Asked Lotor sarcastically. Very few people within the Gangrel clan knew of Lotor’s mixed bloodlines. Sendak was part of the inner circle that knew. “I find the Gangrel way of releasing pent up aggression archaic.”</p>
<p>“Lotor, you’re one of us. Get over yourself.”</p>
<p>The younger vampire rolled his eyes and looked out the window. “So… I’ve heard of the diseased blood that’s going around.”</p>
<p>“Yeah. It’s pretty fucked up.” Said Sendak. “But yeah, bullshit happens. Every few hundred years things like this pop up. We just have to deal with it.”</p>
<p>“You’re very indifferent about something that could potentially reveal us to the humans and wipe us out.”</p>
<p>“Hey, I ain’t no clan leader. I don’t give a fuck about what happens. Grangel are survivors.” Said Sendak. “Unlike all those other shitty clans, we are survivors. We can survive thousands of years without our clans. Others need their clan. Their kin. That’s just how it is. They are weak fucking shits.”</p>
<p>Lotor rolled his eyes and watched as they slowly started to pull up on a very old, almost rundown looking house at the edge of the better part of town. There were several people standing around and a few better looking cars parked near it. </p>
<p>The two vampires exited the car and walked over to the house. Some vampires from their clan were standing around the front gate. They quickly nodded in their general direction and just generally gave them the silent respect that came with being a Gangrel. They walked into the house and headed down to the basement. In the basement there was a trapdoor that several Gangrel and a few Brujah were standing around.</p>
<p>They walked down the trapdoor and headed down a flight of worn steps. The deeper they went the easier it became to hear cheering and the sound of animalistic growling. The arena was up ahead. A place originally built in Arus city as a place to publicly execute vampires that broke the rules. It quickly became used by the Gangrel clan to help them let out some of their extra pent up aggression.</p>
<p>Occasionally there would be an accident and a vampire would die, but that was fine. As far as anyone was concerned, if you stepped into the arena a second death was a risk that they were willing to take. Sendak quickly vanished into the crowds while Lotor ended up finding a place to sit and mull over the fact that he wanted to be at his club.</p>
<p>He still needed to find some information for Allura if he wanted to have an audience with her, which he very much did. Not just because of her insinuations that sex would occur if he did, but because he wanted to size her up. The Venture clan was small in Arus, but had all the power. He needed to figure out what made them so special. They just seemed to be slightly more ambitious Toreadors. He would find a substantial lead for her and use his one chance to figure out her secrets and that of her clan.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. The Arena</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The group are still investigating shit, but it's having various results... Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hunk, Pidge and Shiro ended up at the Tremere clan’s main headquarters. Which happened to be the oldest library in Arus. It was a large, imposing, Gothic structure. With spiralling towers and flying buttresses. It was extremely elaborate and practically forced the male vampires to feel humbled.</p><p>Pidge didn’t give a fuck and kicked at the locked doors. “Hey! Open up you fucks! It’s me! Pidge!”</p><p>After a few seconds the door opened and a ghoul glared down at her. “Did you forget your key? Again?”</p><p>She shrugged. “Bold of you to assume I remembered I had a key.”</p><p>They rolled their eyes and were about to usher Pidge in, when they stopped and glared at Hunk and Shiro. “What business do you have with us?”</p><p>“They’re with me.” Said Pidge. “The vampire Princess herself thinks we should probably look up something for her. You want to go against a Ventrue? The Ventrue?”</p><p>The ghoul seemed to weigh up their options before they completely opened the door. “Get in here before a human sees you… If anyone asks, you tell them to take it up with the Princess.”</p><p>Pidge nodded and the group entered the library. Pidge didn’t really care too much for the library. She had been turned at a relatively young age, so she was a lot more adaptable to change compared to a lot of other vampires. She craved the internet. Books were boring and the internet was just so much better. Fuck books.</p><p>They could hear other vampires in their clan moving around on the upper levels. Ryner, Pidge’s sire, was the head of the Tremere clan in Aurs, but she probably wasn’t in today. Ryner was one that went out to seek knowledge to add to their own. It was fine.</p><p>She gestured for them to follow him and they walked down to a store room down a hallway. She opened the door and pressed her hand against the brick wall at the back of the store room. Pidge quickly mumbled out a few words and the brick wall vanished. It showed a hallway lit by torchlight.</p><p>“Um, where are we going?” Asked Hunk.</p><p>“Tremere library.” Said Pidge. “The Ventrue clan have entrusted the Tremere with keeping all vampiric knowledge in Arus. If there is something about blood diseases then it might be here.”</p><p>The deeper they went down the hall the more twisted the hallways became. They could hear sounds that rattled the halls, fizzled, and sounded almost like animal noises. It was kind of strange. Pidge knew that the two other vampires had no idea what was going on.</p><p>“The arena is down the hallway.” Said Pidge.</p><p>“What’s the arena?” Asked Shiro.</p><p>“Oh, it’s where the Venture clan dishes out public punishment.” Said Hunk. “The Venture don’t use it very often, but the Gangrel use it. They need to let off some steam and it’s easier to just let them fight in a controlled environment and not on the streets. Sometimes other clans like the Nosferatu, Brujah, and Tremere will join in too. But you know, there is a huge risk of suffering a second death, so it’s usually left to the Gangrel.”</p><p>“Okay, but why is there a tunnel from the library to the arena?” Asked Shiro.</p><p>Pidge shrugged. “In the old days the Venture would let the Tremere practice their new spells and blood magic on criminals and traitors. It just made more sense for the library to lead to the arena.”</p><p>“Right…” </p><p>“And your clan didn’t do this kind of stuff?” Asked Pidge.</p><p>Shiro shook his head. “No… My clan was more private. We sorted out manners like that within our clan… If we came across other vampires we would kill them. That is the way of my clan.” He looked down at his prosthetic arm and frowned a little. “Execution is… Nevermind…”</p><p>Pidge shrugged and opened a door to a library filled with heavy and dangerous looking books. The two male vampires looked around in awe while Pidge started looking through the books. Most of them were just spell books. Things that most clans couldn’t use for one reason or another. Most just couldn’t use magic the way her clan could.</p><p>She pointed to a bookshelf. “This is the history stuff. Get cracking boys. Find anything on blood diseases and we’ll start there. Chop, chop people. We can have a look at the arena once we’re done here.” The three vampires started to look through the books to find anything on blood diseases.</p><p>***</p><p>Lance had suggested maybe talking to the Gangrel to see if they had heard anything about the source of the disease. He argued that since Honerva and or Haggar didn’t shoot themselves in the head and they had technically helped them, then maybe Zarkon might be cool with them walking in their territory? Plus Keith was half Gangrel, so they should be cool with him.</p><p>So that’s how Keith ended up in some underground fighting arena, surrounded by Gangrel, just itching for a fight. Not that Keith could blame them. Even he felt a little more adrenaline running through him just for being around others like him. There were of course other vampire clans there, but they were mostly Gangrel.</p><p>They seemed to give the two of them weird looks. Well, more like they were giving Lance weird looks. It seemed like his clan wasn’t around there much. Lance didn’t seem to care. He had an air of arrogance around him that seemed to rub everyone the wrong way. Keith could agree with that. Lance was kind of a massive douchebag.</p><p>As they walked through the crowds Keith could hear the people spectating the fights cheering. It kind of made Keith wonder what kind of fights they decided to partake in. More than likely it was a fight to the death.</p><p>Lance walked over to some stairs where a bald Gangrel stood blocking the way. “Where do you two think you’re going?”</p><p>“Heel there pup.” Said Lance in a condescending manner. “We’re here to talk to Sendak. Is he in today?”</p><p>“He’s in the middle of entertaining a guest.” Growled the vampire. “If you want an audience with Sendak tonight, get that pathetic twink ass of yours in the arena and fucking earn it.” They then spat in Lance’s face. “Fucking whore.”</p><p>“... Well then. Glad to know where we stand.” Lance wiped the spit off his face and sighed before he lunged forward and grabbed the Gangrel by the throat and lifted them into the air. Keith was shocked. Gangrel standing around seemed to be shocked. “Listen here, and listen fucking well.” Hissed Lance in an icy cold manner. Long gone was the slightly goofy, airheaded vampire. It was like a flip had been switched and Lance was a real fucking vampire. “How long have you been a vampire? By your shitty jacket I’d say you used to be some punk. Like an actual punk. A baby compared to me… If you ever get in my fucking way again I will rip your fucking heart out through your dick and fuck the hole until it looks like a meat grinder when to town on you. I’ll-”</p><p>“Calm down there.” Said another Gangrel calmly. He looked better dressed than the rest of them, but he was still clearly a Gangrel. “Now, what do we Gangrel owe the pleasure of being in the presence of such an influential Toreador?”</p><p>Lance frowned and dropped the other Gangrel. “Haxus I presume? I have seen you before at a few city events. You’re on the outer part of Zarkon’s inner circle.”</p><p>Haxus seemed to bristle a little at that statement. “I could say the same for you and Luxia. Then again, you seem to be more like her pet than part of her clan. She doesn’t convert men. You’re practically the only male Toreador in Arus. Almost makes you think that she wasn’t your sire? Are you just a poor child that was abandoned by their original sire?”</p><p>Keith looked between Lance and Haxus. Keith still had no idea who the fuck Haxus was, or why he was pushing Lance’s buttons. But then again, Lance was an asshole. He probably did something to piss him off in the past.</p><p>Lance looked like he was going to murder Haxus. Hell, Lance’s eyes were glowing red. The vampire just took a few deep breaths before his eyes went back to their usual blue hue and his smirk returned.</p><p>“Oh really? You’re still going on about that? That’s so sexist. I thought we were all trying to be progressive. Besides, what vampire can say they have been in the innermost circles of two clan leaders? Boat Luxia and Allura seemed very happy for me to repeatedly enter their inner circle over, and over again.” He accentuated each over with a hip thrust. “Now are we done being childish? I want to see Sendak, but your punk bitch isn’t letting me.”</p><p>Haxus rolled his eyes. “He’s just telling you the truth. You want to see Sendak, you gotta put on a good show. So either put up or shut up.”</p><p>Lance sighed dramatically. “Fine! Dramatic hoe. Come on Keith. We’re fighting vampires.”</p><p>“Um, sure?” Keith had no idea what was going on.</p><p>Haxus laughed.  “Yeah, no. I said you fight. Not that Gangrel, whose balls you apparently cut off.”</p><p>“Hey!” Growled Keith, his fangs quickly started to show.</p><p>Lance just put his hand up. “Relax, I got this. Fine. I get it. Kill a few dogs, get a chance to talk to Sendak. I got this.”</p><p>“Good. This way.” Haxus gestured for Lance to follow him.</p><p>Keith quickly grabbed Lance’s hand before he could get too far. “What the fuck are you doing? You’re going to get killed.”</p><p>“Keith, I’m still a vampire.” Said Lance. “I’ve killed enough vampires to be confident enough to take out a few of them. Besides… No one insults my clan.” There was a determined look in his eyes, and Keith just let him go.</p><p>As Haxus led Lance into the arena, Keith quickly took a seat. When Lance walked out into the arena the vampires spectating quickly became even more excited than they already were. Keith wasn’t stupid. He was pretty sure that the Toreador wasn’t the most popular clan in the city. Even if they didn’t know Lance personally, they knew what his clan stood for. This really annoyed Keith. Lance was as good as dead and then he’d have to tell Allura that Lance did something stupid.</p><p>He saw a Gangrel walk into the arena and happily stride over to Lance with confidence. They let their more monstrous, feral features come through as they did. Lance just cracked his knuckles and grinned. There was suddenly a flash of blue and Lance was standing behind the Galra, a few feet away with the other vampire’s head and spine in his hands. </p><p>There was an uproar and Keith’s jaw dropped. Apparently Lance actually was much more capable than he gave him credit for. Was this the power of a Toreador?</p><p>***</p><p>Lance McClain had never liked killing. He had always found it distasteful for several reasons. He didn’t think something not specifically bred for slaughter should be killed. He didn’t like having blood on his hands because fresh blood, even blood from an undead always sent his senses into overdrive. It was also a painful reminder of how much of a Toreador he truly was. And that made him feel sick.</p><p>Like the Gangrel and the Malkavian’s, the Toreador’s had their own advantages and disadvantages. The Toreador’s were considered the most human of all vampires. Able to seamlessly blend into human society, the Toreador were also known to be able to drop it all in a second. Lance didn’t drop his humanity often, since he was afraid he might lose it forever if he did, but some vampires needed a much sterner hand.</p><p>He heard a snarl behind him and quickly ducked out of the way, when a Gangrel tried to grab at him. Lance quickly lept backwards. He should be freaking out, but he was incredibly calm. If he could keep calm then he would always have the upper hand on his enemies. Lotor had just caught him off guard before.</p><p>Lance quickly and easily dodged any attacks that the Gangrel were throwing at him. He was going to drag this fight out as long as possible to give the Gangrel a good show. He needed to give them a show, and then he would rip Haxus’s prostate out through his throat.</p><p>He felt a claw swipe past his cheek. On instinct, Lance turned his head and unhinged his jaw. The Gangrel that had taken a swipe at him was still moving straight towards him because of the momentum. Lance hardly had to do anything. The bastard’s head just fell into his mouth. Lance snapped his jaw up and bit off a huge chunk out of their face. Nose, eyes, and most of their brain was gone. </p><p>Being called a serpent wasn’t just because he had loyalty to his clan and Allura, or because his body was so flexible he was practically made of rubber. When Lance switched off his humanity he was practically a true, coldblooded snake. The only difference between him and the reptiles was that he didn’t have venom. It made it difficult to truly rip out flesh from his victims. </p><p>He didn’t give a fuck what happened or who got in his way. The old stench of rusty iron filled his nostrils and only fed his vampiric bloodlust. The smell of that old blood sickened him, and the taste was stale, but vampire blood was still blood… And when blood was spilled all vampires would go into a frenzy.</p><p>But Lance was okay. He could control this. He could keep his humanity together. Maybe. He didn’t fight like this that often. He wasn’t used to this. But he could handle it… Maybe… He could...</p><p>“Enough!” Yelled Haxus. He clearly looked annoyed from his spot in the crowd.</p><p>Lance took a few moments to calm down before he smirked up at him. “So, can I see Sendak now, or do I have to rip your spleen out through your throat?”</p><p>Haxus rolled his eyes. “Just get out here you asshole.”</p><p>That made Lance grin and he happily headed out. He got dirty looks from other Gangrel but Lance just smirked at them. Keith walked over to him looking very surprised. That just made Lance grin.</p><p>“So… You can fight pretty well.”</p><p>“You aren’t the only one that can kill vampires. Besides, Gangrel are easy when they are pissed.”</p><p>Haxus led them up the stairs to where Sendak was. It was a quiet, private booth that overlooked the arena. The two of them were very shocked that Lotor was there. Lotor seemed surprised that they were there too. Sendak just seemed pissed.</p><p>“What do you two want?”</p><p>Lance pouted and walked over to them. “Ah, Sendak, so good to see you again… We thought we would just drop by and see you. Hey Lotor. Didn’t think you would be here.”</p><p>Lotor shrugged. “My father insisted I was going to be here tonight. It’s pathetic. First he forces me to dinner and now this. I just wanted to go to my club. Much more interesting than this mess.”</p><p>“Really?” Asked Sendak. “Man, you’d think that you weren’t Gangrel at this rate.”</p><p>Lotor rolled his eyes. “Whatever… I’m assuming you two are here about the blood poisonings?”</p><p>“Yep.” Said Lance. He might look dumb but he was very good at finding connections. “So here’s the thing, lots of places where there are large gatherings of vampires, but compared to other places the arena isn’t getting as many vampires going nuts from bad blood. Why do you think that is?”</p><p>Sendak shrugged. “These things happen. Maybe we’ve just been lucky so far when it comes to where we source our blood from? Gangrel are survivors after all. We can tell when blood is good or bad… Or maybe we’re just immune to this disease? Wouldn’t be the first time. Nosferatu were immune to the bubonic plague back in the day. Even spread it around a little and was the dominant clan for a century too because of it. Fuckers can drink from fresh corpses after all.”</p><p>“Gangrel aren’t exactly the pinnacle of Vampirism.” Said Keith. Lance was kind of shocked that Keith was speaking against his clan. Then again Keith was only half Gangrel. He also probably really hated vampires because he was a vampire hunter. “We’re a bunch of drooling, gibbering idiots when we lose control.”</p><p>Sendak looked like he was going to snap at Keith, but Lotor cut in with a laugh. “He is right. Each clan has their ups and downs. Gangrel are extremely strong, but can succumb to our more animal instincts. Toreador blend seamlessly into human society, but can flip it on and off like a switch. Nosferatu are the most stealthy and can hide in the shadows no matter their size, but are ugly as sin. Malkavian can see the future but are clinically insane. Brujah are easy going, but will be the first to start a riot. Tremere can use complex magic, but are unreliable and untrustworthy. Venture are the enforcers of the ancient traditions that weave the destiny of us kindred, but they are stubborn and pigheaded. We all have our flaws.”</p><p>“And what about the Andeddohantā?” Asked Lance curiously. He knew that was the clan that Shiro was a part of and the clan that Keith was loyal to. He wanted to see what his reaction was.</p><p>Lotor sighed a little as he thought. “Andeddohantā… They are one of the most vicious, blood thirsty, ancient clans among vampires. They have some kind of honour code where they slaughter undead on sight, and only turn people who have shown great honour and selflessness in the face of vampires. So basically they are the vampire killing clan. One that we vampires most hate… It’s said that each member of the original Andeddohantā clan carry around a piece of their sire’s flesh or bones with them at all times.”</p><p>Lance tried to read Keith’s reaction, but he seemed indifferent. Which was kind of annoying. Lance liked getting Keith rilled up. It was interesting and fun. But alas, he would have to find some other way to get him going. Man, he really needed to not do that. Keith was going to end up killing him at some point if he kept trying to aggravate him.</p><p>“So no cases of savaging?” Asked Keith. “No one?”</p><p>“No.” Growled Sendak. “No one here has been affected by savaging. Get the fuck out of my arena.”</p><p>“Hey, that’s no way to talk to us.” Said Lance with a pout. “We’re trying to do a thorough investigation and-” The sound of loud screaming and cheering came from the crowd making everyone take pause.</p><p>They looked into the arena and Lance almost had to do a double take. “What the hell is Shiro doing in the arena?”</p><p>“Who the fuck is Shiro?” Asked Sendak.</p><p>“He’s an Andeddohantā.” Said Keith in a slightly panicked tone. </p><p>“... Who the fuck threw an Andeddohantā into the fucking arena?!” Roared Sendak in frustration.</p><p>Lance was both worried and intrigued. Intrigued because he wanted to see a vampire slaughtering vampire kill other vampires. However he was worried that there were going to be no more Gangrel by the end of this. </p><p>A blur of black and red flashed just out of the corner of Lance’s eye. He turned his head just in time to see Keith launching himself through the air, past the crowd and into the arena. He had no idea what on earth Keith was thinking, but this was going to be one hell of an interesting fight.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Kuron</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Here is the vampire fight. Translation notes at the bottom (it's in romaji because I can't read or even begin to pronounce Japanese kanji just by looking at it. Just thought it night be slightly easier for everyone? idk). Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was all just a misunderstanding. At least that’s what Shiro was trying to say to the Gangrel before he got thrown into the arena. After going through so many books and not finding much useful information, Pidge just decided to show them the arena. </p><p>Hunk had been there before, mostly when Allura was executing a traitor. He waved to a few people from his clan that happened to be there, and a few from the Nosferatu clan that he was friendly with. The people there eyed Pidge with caution. Some even calling them “the little demon.”</p><p>“How did you earn that name?” Asked Hunk.</p><p>“There is a vampire I want to kill.” Said Pidge. “I don’t want to find him and just end it quickly. I want it as drawn out as I physically can before they are taken by the second death. A few centuries ago under the permission of Ryner and Allura, I practiced my blood magic on those who were going to be executed anyway.”</p><p>“What are you going to do when your revenge is complete?” Asked Shiro. “It’s going to be a pretty hollow existence once it’s over.”</p><p>“And what are you going to do when you kill every vampire, Andeddohantā?”</p><p>Apparently it was a bad idea to say Shiro’s clan name out loud. The Gangrel, especially the older ones, gave Shiro a look of anger and disgust. Next thing he knew he was grabbed and was crowd surfing into the arena. Not that he could really blame them. His clan had made the Gangrel clan completely extinct across Asia at some point in history. Of course that would be a sore spot for them all.</p><p>But now here he was in the arena where a bunch of vampires were already fighting. A particularly fucked up looking Nosferatu approached him, cracking his knuckles, smirking. Shiro quickly put his hands up and backed away.</p><p>“Whoa, easy there. I don’t want to fight.” Said Shiro. “I kind of just got thrown in here. I-”</p><p>The Nosferatu lunged at him. Call it muscle memory or instinct, but Shiro quickly grabbed him and tossed him over his shoulder. He really, really didn’t want to fight. For the past few decades Shiro had taken on a much more passive lifestyle. Several lifetimes of killing had twisted him in ways that he didn’t like and didn’t want to revisit those days.</p><p>However, Shiro could already feel a tingling in his prosthetic arm. His arm was made from enchanted wood and when he got blood on it… Well, there was blood pretty much all over the arena. He just needed to try and not let his arm touch blood. Which was pretty impossible when he slipped in a puddle of blood and his arm fucking landed in it.</p><p>He instantly felt energy surging in the limb. A pulsing, quivering, electrifying energy that demanded some kind of release. This was bad. His arm had a mind of its own. Then he heard a whisper.</p><p><em>“Shiro… It’s been so long Shiro…”</em> Purred a very, very soft voice in the back of his head. <em>“You can’t deny me my share. Not this time. It has been too long. I need my blood.”</em></p><p>Shiro’s arm moved on its own as it practically launched forward on its own and punched through a Gangrel’s chest, ripped out their heart, and crushed it, drenching the prosthetic in blood. The thin space between the joints started to glow purple and Shiro could feel the dormant blood magic quickly running through his shoulder and through his head.</p><p>
  <em>“Blood. More blood. More blood for me. Your sire. I gave you power, you give me blood. By any means necessary.”</em>
</p><p>“Yes… Blood for my sire…” He muttered. Shiro went into a trance-like state as he went about slaughtering any Gangrel that came his way. The more vampire blood he got on his arm the brighter the purple glow became and the louder the voice became in Shiro’s head.</p><p>
  <em>“More! More! More! Give me more! I need more!”</em>
</p><p>***</p><p>Keith landed in the arena and looked at Shiro. It had been a long time since he had killed a vampire. Which would make this so much worse. His prosthetic needed blood, but giving it blood made Shiro weird. If he denied it blood for long periods of time then Shiro would be completely at its will when he gave it what it wanted. He needed to stop him.</p><p>But to get close to Shiro, Keith needed to get past the pissed off looking Gangrel. Keith groaned in annoyance and popped his yawara out of his shoes. Time to kill a few Gangrel to get to Shiro. Keith growled at them and let his more monstrous, wolfish form to slip through.</p><p>He growled at the Gangrel and they growled back at him and lunged. Keith ducked out of the way and quickly delivered a series of strikes with the yawara to the Gangrel’s face, neck, and chest. Although the yawara that Keith were using were blunt on both ends his strikes were powerful enough to pierce a hole into the Gangrel’s flesh. When the Gangrel was doubled over in pain, Keith delivered a killing blow to the top of their head, shattering their skull and splattering their brain out across the ground.</p><p>But he had no time to relax. He had to jump out of the way before  Nosferatu tried to take a swipe at him. This annoyed the fuck of of Keith. He didn’t have time for this. He needed to get to Shiro.</p><p>“Get the fuck out of my way!” He growled at them.</p><p>“The only way you’re getting out of here is in a body bag.” Growled the Nosferatu.</p><p>Keith rolled his eyes. “We turn to ashes when we die you dumbass.”</p><p>“Shut the fuck up!” They lunged at Keith. Keith ducked and quickly made his way towards Shiro. He jumped over the other fighting vampires. With each vampire Shiro killed their prosthetic started to glow brighter and brighter. This was not good at all.</p><p>Suddenly Shiro grabbed hold of a vampire by the throat and there was a brief pulse of purple. It immediately turned the vampire to ash. It made Keith’s stomach turn. Shiro had let the arm absorb too much blood. Shiro wasn’t in control anymore.</p><p>Keith quickly charged towards him and slid under some vampire’s legs. Shiro wasn’t in control anymore. He hated this when this happened. There were only a few ways to snap Shiro back from this. Though all options were very, very painful.</p><p>“Kuron!” Yelled Keith.</p><p>The man that was no longer Shiro paused and looked over at him. His irises were glowing the same purple as his arm. Their face was stone cold and void of most emotion. “Gippeum. It has been a long time since we have last spoken to each other face to face. Have you gotten stronger since we last spoke?”</p><p>“Watashi wa itsumo anata yori mo tsuyoidesu.” Growled Keith.</p><p>Kuron’s emotionless expression instantly changed to one of amusement. “Watashi no shita de hanasu? Nante natsukashī.” Kuron easily took a fighting stance and grinned like a mad man. “Mukashi no yō ni Gippeum?”</p><p>Keith glared at him for a few seconds before he charged at the man standing in a pile of ash and bones. He needed to do this quickly and avoid Shiro’s damn purple hand. A thing that was both a blessing and a curse given to him by his sire. The hand was able to give off concentrated blasts of UV radiation that he had magical protection against. If he grabbed a vampire and let out a small of that radiation he could turn a vampire to dust. If the arm absorbed too much blood he could turn every vampire in this arena to ash.</p><p>Things would have been so much easier if Kuron didn’t have that damn arm. Sure Keith wouldn’t die from UV radiation, but a concentrated blast would put a huge hole in his body. He quickly ducked and dodged Kuron’s attacks. Every time he tried to hit Kuron, he would block with his left arm and then strike with his right.</p><p>It was difficult for him to find an opening, and his prosthetic was glowing brighter. This was going to hurt. Keith internally cringed and let Kuron grab the front of his shirt. He wrapped his body around the arm as tightly as he could and Kuron let out an extremely large pulse of UV radiation.</p><p>Blood gushed out of Keith’s mouth as he felt the radiation eat away at his flesh and bones. Kuron dropped him and by some miracle, Keith was still standing despite thefist sized hole in his chest that was steadily growing. </p><p>“Mada tatteru? Inshō-tekidesu.” Said Kuron with a smirk. “Motto chikara o irerubekidatta.” He grabbed Keith by the throat and lifted him into the air. His prosthetic was starting to glow again. “Anata no saigo no shi o ukeireru, Gippeum.”</p><p>“Fakkuofu.” Keith swung his leg back and kicked Kuron as hard as he could in the nuts. He was pretty sure he heard a crack. Living or undead a kick to the nuts was a kick to the nuts. Kuron dropped Keith and doubled over in pain, vomiting.</p><p>While he was writhing in pain, Keith quickly got behind him to avoid his hands, and sunk his teeth into Kuron’s neck. He quickly started to drain Shiro of as much blood as he can without killing him. He struggled and attempted to grip at Keith to pull him off, but Keith had easily ripped into his jugular and was draining him fast.</p><p>Contrary to some facets of pop culture, vampires did have blood. It was just extremely thick and didn’t carry oxygen the same way a living human would. Since it was thicker it also clotted a lot faster than human blood. As long as the wound wasn’t too large a vampire could survive wounds that would normally kill a human. It also contained strange magical properties, but in this day and age it would probably be considered some kind of virus rather than magic.</p><p>When he felt Kudon stop struggling, Keith let him go. It was a real rush drinking the blood of the man who was technically his sire. He looked down at his chest and saw that he still had a gaping hole in his body, but at least it was slowly starting to heal with the help of Shiro’s blood. However he could still see his sternum and ribs.</p><p>He quickly glanced up at the screaming crowd and noticed that there were still vampires in the arena coming towards them. He swore under his breath and quickly pulled Shiro onto his back. It was time to leave. He was one again grateful of the boost Shiro’s blood had given him as he took a running leap towards the crowd.</p><p>Keith gave no fucks about whose head he stepped on as he moved through the crowd towards the edge. A few tried to grab at his ankles, but Keith didn’t care. He needed to get out of there. He had memorized the way he and Lance had managed to get into the arena, via a drain in the territory of the Nosferatu, and was more than able to get through there again with minimal resistance.</p><p>The two of them slid down a slimy drain pipe and into the main storm water system. They almost ran right into a Nosferatu woman. Who seemed to be about to head into the pipe herself.</p><p>“Whoa! Are you two okay?” She asked. Keith growled at her and was about to take off running again when the woman gasped. “Wait, is that Shiro?!”</p><p>“... You know him?”</p><p>The Nosferatu woman nodded quickly. “Yes. I met him before. He was with Hunk. I’m Shay. What happened to you?”</p><p>“Mishap in the arena… Do you have any blood to spare?”</p><p>“Yeah, come with me…” Shay quickly led the two of them into the Nosferatu territory. She took them to the dugout hole in the wall where a stained mattress was. “Just put him here… I’ll be back with some emergency blood packs.”</p><p>Shay came back with three packs. Keith opened the corner of one, shoved the corner into Shiro’s mouth and squeezed it, forcing him to swallow it all. He did the same with the second blood pack, but drank the third one himself. After a few minutes Shiro started to stir and the deep bite mark on his neck slowly started to heal up.</p><p>“What happened?” Muttered Shiro.</p><p>“Kuron.”</p><p>“Oh, that asshole…”</p><p>“Yeah. You just rest up for a bit. We’ll head home when you’re better.”</p><p>“Okay…” It didn’t take too long for Shiro to drift off. </p><p>Once he had fallen asleep, Keith sat back and looked down at his chest. The blood pack had helped a bit and he was slowly starting to repair muscle, but it wasn’t that fast. He was getting old. Really fucking old.</p><p>He sighed and leaned his head against the wall as he thought about Sendak. Sendak made him feel weird. Just looking at the man made Keith shudder. Something about him was off. Very off. Maybe he was just a sadistic vampire? Someone would have to be pretty twisted to be the guy that ran the arena.</p><p>***</p><p>“... What the fuck was that?!” Asked Pidge in shock. “How the actual fuck did I not know Shiro had one of those for an arm?!”</p><p>“I don’t even know what that is.” Said Hunk. “... Is that Lance?”</p><p>“Holy shit that is Lance.” Pidge waved at him through the crowd and the Toreador quickly went over to them. “What are you doing here?”</p><p>“Keith and I came to talk to Sendak.” Said Lance. “You know, this being a huge Gangrel gathering and all that. It just seemed weird that there hasn’t been a spike in savagings. What are you guys doing here?”</p><p>“Tremere tunnel is right over there.” Pidge gestured off to the distance. “What the fuck happened here?”</p><p>“Not a clue.” Said Lance. “Shiro was… And then Keith tried to drink him dry? What the fuck happened?”</p><p>Pidge shrugged. “No idea. I didn’t think that Shiro would have some kind of vampire slaying weapon like that. Like, holy fuck my dude, and how the hell did Keith survive getting a blast of UV radiation in the chest?”</p><p>Lance looked confused. “Huh, UV? Isn’t that like the stuff from the sun that kind of burns us to a crisp?”</p><p>“Yeah.”</p><p>“Well shit… Though considering he didn’t burn when we got caught in the sun the day…”</p><p>“Wait, what do you mean he didn’t burn?” Asked Pidge. She quickly thought back to all the reasons why someone like Keith wouldn’t burn, and then she thought about the weird questions that Lance had asked him. Things like if vampires can eat human food, asking about mixing clans. “... Keith isn’t fully Gangrel, is he?”</p><p>“... Maybe we should talk about this away from here?” Suggested Lance.</p><p>Pidge sighed. “Fine. What exit do you think Keith took?”</p><p>“The one closest to the Nosferatu territory.” Said Lance. “That’s the one we took to get in here.”</p><p>“Right, let’s go.”</p><p>The trio headed down into the stormwater drains and had a look around. Pidge cast blood sight on herself to see any trace of freshly spilled vampire blood. “... This way.” She led the trio into Nosferatu territory where she quickly found Keith and Shiro. Shiro was unconscious, and Keith was sitting next to him with a gaping hole in his chest.</p><p>He looked shocked to see them. “Um… Hi?”</p><p>“Are you okay?” Asked Lance. “Holy shit, that looks bad. Are those your ribs?”</p><p>“Yeah. I’m fine.” Muttered Keith. “Shay was nice enough to give us some blood packs.”</p><p>“Shay is around?” Asked Hunk.</p><p>“Yeah, somewhere…”</p><p>“... When were you going to tell us you were a day walker?” Asked Pidge.</p><p>“It seemed irrelevant.” Muttered Keith. “Besides, if I wasn’t UV proof every vampire in the arena would have turned to ash. Kuron isn’t a good person.”</p><p>“What are we talking here?” Asked Hunk. “Split personality? Possession?”</p><p>“Possession.” Said Keith quietly. “It’s… It’s hard to explain. Shiro should explain what is going on with him better than I can.”</p><p>“Fine…” Muttered Pidge. She wasn’t very happy that Keith had been keeping this a secret from them. She knew he probably had a good reason, well, he did. Vampires generally hated the offspring of mixed clans. She still wanted to know Keith’s reason for silence. Also, what the fuck was Kuron?</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Watashi wa itsumo anata yori mo tsuyoidesu.- I have always been stronger than you.<br/>Watashi no shita de hanasu? Nante natsukashī.- Speaking in my tongue? How nostalgic.<br/>Mukashi no yō ni Gippeum?- Just like old times, huh Gippeum?<br/>Mada tatteru? Inshō-tekidesu.- Still standing? Impressive.<br/>Motto chikara o irerubekidatta.- I should have used more power.<br/>Anata no saigo no shi o ukeireru, Gippeum- Embrace your final death, Gippeum.<br/>Fakkuofu- Fuck off.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Regroup</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hope you all enjoy this chapter. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After what felt like forever, Shiro woke up again. He looked rather sickly, but he was sitting upright, so it wasn’t that bad. Hunk informed the group that it was daylight out so that they would have to stay there until the light came up. Shiro complained that Adam and Curtis were going to worry about him. Keith told him to shut up or he’d punch him.</p>
<p>Pidge sighed. “Look, banter aside, what the fuck is going on with you two?” She asked. “You’re a day walker, and you’re possessed by a thing called Kuron. The fuck?”</p>
<p>Shiro and Keith remained silent, so Hunk spoke up. “Um… M-maybe we should all just talk a little about ourselves? None of us really know each other, and um… We’re all kind of here for secret reasons…”</p>
<p>“So you want us all to spill our guts?” Asked Lance. He glanced over to Keith and shrugged. “Eh, whatever. I already told Keith. I want safe passage to Cuba. I located my family’s graves and I want to visit them at least once. Allura can give me passages there and back along with something so I can go into a Catholic cemetery.”</p>
<p>“You want to visit your family?” Asked Hunk.</p>
<p>Lance nodded. “They… My family was the reason I left my home to begin with. I made money and set it back to them before I was turned…”</p>
<p>“... I was to kill the vampire that killed my family.” Said Pidge. “My parents were slaughtered, leaving only me and my brother. I’m going to find them and I am going to make them suffer more than any other vampire has ever suffered before in their existence.”</p>
<p>“I want to be a full vampire.” Said Keith quickly. “I’m sick and tired of having to be careful about everything I do. I want to eat food, but every time I do I feel sick. I don’t belong here. Fuck, I’ll settel for being a ghoul. Allura’s blood will give me the chance to be a full vampire… Venture blood can fix what’s wrong with me.”</p>
<p>“There’s nothing wrong with being a day walker!” Said Hunk a little louder than he seemed to intend to. “There is nothing wrong with mixing clans or being half human. It’s stupid.”</p>
<p>Pidge raised an eyebrow. A little surprised but not worried about his sudden burst of anger. “Oh? I’m guessing you wanting to be with Shay is more than just a clan mixing thing? Is Shay pregnant?”</p>
<p>“...”</p>
<p>Lance gasped. “She’s pregnant?! Congrats man! That’s so cool! You have any idea how hard it is for a vampire to get knocked up? That’s amazing!”</p>
<p>Hunk blushed a little. “Yeah… Well, I guess you know what I want now… I want Allura to allow Shay and I to have our child and not… Shay really wants to have this baby, even though she’s worried… Not many people know about it. But somehow Allura seemed to know about it.”</p>
<p>“Venture always know.” Said Lance. “They just… They just do. That is what they do. Anyway, what about you Shiro? What do you want?”</p>
<p>Shiro chuckled and looked down at his prosthetic. “Yeah… My sire… My clan before we became vampires, we still hunted yokai. Supernatural creatures, but we mainly hunted more malevolent creatures. Mostly Yurei, but anything that tried to hurt humans… We crossed something that had crawled out of the darkest bowls of Yomi. It wiped out several villages and most of the clan… There was only a small handful of us left.”</p>
<p>“What’s a Yomi?” Asked Lance.</p>
<p>“It’s like hell.” Said Keith.</p>
<p>Shiro nodded sadly. “Yeah… Anyway, we were contacted by something else from Yomi and we… We wanted revenge. We have our souls to them and they took parts of our body and replaced them with weapons that would kill the undead… But we need to give it blood to work. Any blood… But the more blood we give it the more we feel our sire’s influence on us until it…”</p>
<p>“It takes over?” Asked Pidge.</p>
<p>“Yeah…” Muttered Shiro. “I try not to kill with my arm anymore. I don’t want to risk giving blood to my sire… Kuron isn’t even their name. The others in my clan called it different names when my sire took them over…”</p>
<p>“What about Adam and Curtis?” Asked Hunk. “Are they part of your clan or what?”</p>
<p>“They are second generation vampires.” Said Shiro. “They have no connection to my sire… I’d have to take my sire for my sire to have a connection to him… Something I would never curse them with… I want Allura to sever my connection with my sire. They are probably one of the first vampires so it’s no easy feat.”</p>
<p>Lance chuckled slightly after a few moments which seemed to piss Keith off. “What are you laughing at?”</p>
<p>The Toreador grinned. “I just find it funny. This says a lot about us, you know? Like all of us are here for selfish reasons, not unusual. Vampires are selfish fucks, but the only one here that’s doing something to benefit anyone else, is Hunk. If we solve this case then he and Shay can have their baby in peace.”</p>
<p>“Hey!” Snapped Pidge. “I’m doing this for Matt too!”</p>
<p>“Oh please. You’re just like me.” Said Lance. “You just want closure. What happens when you murder the bastard that killed your family? You and your brother are still vampires.” He pointed at Shiro and Keith. “And what about these two? Once Keith is a full vampire, then what? He’ll just be like everyone else and considered normal in our society. Shiro will just be a vampire that’s good at fighting other vampires. What then? What now? They are still going to be vampires what changed? I’m just going to say my final goodbyes to my family. After that we just go back to our lives. Only Hunk wants something that affects the undead lives of his lover and unborn child.”</p>
<p>“Whoa, calm down there.” Said Hunk. “I’m not some virtuous guy. This is just what I want. We’re all doing what we want. I’m not better than any other vampire here.”</p>
<p>Lance laughed. “You say that, yet if you look between us, which one of us wants to do something for someone else? Ah, younger vampires are so much more virtuous than the rest.” He started to walk out of their small room.</p>
<p>“Where are you going?” Asked Pidge.</p>
<p>Lance held up his phone. “Gotta find a signal and report back to the princess. She’s gonna be mad at me. I haven’t reported in yet.”</p>
<p>“I’m going to talk to Shay…” Said Hunk and he quickly followed Lance out.</p>
<p>Pidge huffed and sat down. She was tired and cranky. She didn’t like how Lance just called them all out like that. It was bullshit. But she was still pissed off at Keith. “So… day walker?”</p>
<p>“Yeah.” Muttered Keith. “Not something you can yell from the rooftops… I’m going back to the apartment. I’ll tell Adam and Curtis what’s happened.”</p>
<p>“Okay. Travel safely.”</p>
<p>“Yeah, I will.” Keith left, leaving Pidge and Shiro alone.</p>
<p>“... Why didn’t he tell us?” Asked Pidge. “Being a day walker is huge! We could have used that to our advantage.”</p>
<p>“Pidge, you’re an old enough vampire to know why Keith is guarded about that.” Said Shiro quietly. “Half vampires from any clan were destroyed and slaughtered for just existing.”</p>
<p>“Why didn’t you kill Keith when you found out what he was?” </p>
<p>“... I felt guilty. He was just a normal human that was put in a horrible situation. He didn’t deserve this life…” Shiro sighed and shook his head. “Keith was just a scared and confused kid that didn’t understand what was going on with him anymore, and I felt obligated to help him. I was trying to bring him into my clan, not awaken his vampire side.”</p>
<p>“Right…” Pidge sat on the floor and tried to get herself comfortable. It was going to be a long day.</p>
<p>***</p>
<p>Hunk quickly found Shay. She was sucking on a blood pack and looking quite distressed. He walked over to her and sighed. “Hey Shay… Um… Keith and Shiro are fine now.”</p>
<p>Shay let out a small sigh of relief. “That’s good. I was really worried about them…”</p>
<p>“Yeah… Are you okay? You’re not too stressed? Stress isn’t good for the baby…”</p>
<p>“Yeah, I know.” Said Shay quietly. She sighed and walked into the cave system in the wall that belonged to her family. Hunk followed her in there and into the small offshoot that was her room. Like most Nosferatu decor it was a mismatch of different things that she had collected over the years. It was still very distinctly Shay. Even the beaded curtain she used as a door was very Shay.</p>
<p>She lied down on her mattress, and gestured for Hunk to lay next to her. He was more than happy to do so. He smiled at her and gently brushed some hair out of her face. “You look beautiful.”</p>
<p>“Thanks… Are they really okay? They were both pretty messed up.”</p>
<p>“They are fine. Really. I promise.” He kissed her softly. “Shay, things will be okay. I promise.”</p>
<p>She frowned a little and looked away. “I… I’m still worried Hunk.”</p>
<p>“What’s there to be worried about?” He asked. “You know you can tell me anything, right?”</p>
<p>“... The week is almost up.” She said quietly. “Have you made any progress? My mother, grandmother and I are still going to leave by the end of the week if this isn’t…”</p>
<p>“Hey now…” Hunk held her hand and gently squeezed. “Shay… I know this is hard, but I am going to do this. Everything will be okay. Please. Trust me. We will figure this all out.”</p>
<p>Shay didn’t look very convinced. “Platt.” She said. “We are going to go to Platt if this doesn’t work out.”</p>
<p>Hunk was a little surprised. Platt was very, very far away. Almost three states over. “Why?”</p>
<p>“There’s a big Nospheratu clan in Platt.” Said Shay. “It’s going to be safer for me and the baby if we go there. I just want what’s best for them. If this disease wasn’t here I’d stay here, but if Allura can’t keep it under control I just…”</p>
<p>“I know… Just please wait a little while longer… Please… For me?”</p>
<p>Shay sighed and nodded. “Yeah. I will wait a little longer, but my dad is the one that’s ordering us away. He’s starting to send small groups out to go to Platt. I…” She sniffled a little and blood red tears started to roll down her face. “I don’t want to go…”</p>
<p>“Shay…” Hunk did his best to dry her tears. “Please don’t cry…”</p>
<p>“I’m sorry… I just… I want this all to work out… I really do… I… I want to have  family with you. I want you to be around for the whole pregnancy. I…” She continued to sob, so Hunk held her in his arms. He did his best to try and soothe her. He didn’t think it was working very well.</p>
<p>As he did so he couldn’t help but think about what Lance had said about him being selfless, but that wasn’t true at all. Hunk was still a vampire and was just as selfish as the rest of them. He didn’t care what happened to any other vampire as long as Shay and their baby were safe. </p>
<p>***</p>
<p>“-Alright. Talk to you soon.” Said Allura as she hung up her phone. She had just gotten off the phone with Lance. It was nice getting a report from him, finally. Though next time she hoped that his report would be more face to face. It was easier to see if he was lying if she could see his face.</p>
<p>“If everything alright Allura?” Asked Coran as he walked to her. In his hands he was carrying a wine glass and a knife.</p>
<p>She nodded and took those things off of him. “Yes. Everyone knows about Kuron and everyone bonded over what they want to get out of helping me.” She slit her wrist and held it over the cup. “So everyone’s cards have been laid out as far as they know… How foolish. They should have kept their secrets.”</p>
<p>“Well they are all quite young compared to you.” Reminded Coran.</p>
<p>“Indeed…” Allura handed the wine glass back to Coran and licked her wrist, instantly healing her wound. “But it is still foolish. Anyway, I have a list of things for you to do while I am asleep.”</p>
<p>“Ah, preparing for Lotor’s visit?”</p>
<p>“Of course. He said he had some rather important information for me. Might as well see if his information warrants me letting him bed me.” She gestured to the glass in Coran’s hand. “Drink up. That blood is for you.”</p>
<p>Coran smiled and bowed. “Thank you Allura.” He drank her blood like it was a fine wine. “Ah, Venture blood. Just as refreshing as always. Thank you Allura.”</p>
<p>“You do not need to constantly thank me Coran.” Said Allura calmly. “You have been serving my family since before my time. I will always look after you. You’re my family’s ghoul. You belong to me.”</p>
<p>“As do all the kindred in the city.” Coran drank some more. “Are you getting ready for bed now?”</p>
<p>“Yes.”</p>
<p>“Then I shall be as quiet as possible as I get things ready for you dinner with Lotor.”</p>
<p>“Thank you Coran.” Allura walked into her bedroom and changed into her white silk nightgown. She always liked how white looked against her skin. Most vampires tended to try and avoid white since it was so easy to get all bloody and messy. She would probably wear white tomorrow when meeting Lotor.</p>
<p>In vampire society, white was seen as extremely dangerous. It showed that a vampire either didn’t care if others saw how bloody they got during a feeding, or that they fed so quickly and easily that they never spilled a drop of blood. It was funny, considering humans usually saw white as pure. At least in Western culture.</p>
<p>Hopefully Lotor would see her in a white dress and be humbled by her. Most vampires were. She knew Lance certainly was any time he saw her in white. He would second guess himself and let Allura take control of a situation. Any situation. Not like he wouldn’t give her all the power in any situation.</p>
<p>Lance was an amusing vampire. She could see why someone from the Toreador clan would turn him. Lance truly was beautiful. One of her favourite play things by far. It was even better that Lance seemed to like her and took some enjoyment in feeding her information. If Allura had met him first then she might have made him her ghoul… But she was happy enough with Coran as her ghoul. He was loyal, kind, and would do anything for the Venture clan in exchange for a bit of blood every month or so.</p>
<p>She double checked that her blackout curtains were drawn shut and went to bed. She would talk to Lotor. They would discuss his information over dinner, and then depending on how good she thought it was, then she would see where things would go.</p>
<p>Lotor had always been a tricky one to her. She knew that she would have to take everything he said with a grain of salt. Despite Lotor’s displeasure towards Zarkon, he was still Zarkon’s son, and if Allura was honest with herself, she really didn’t like the Gangrel clan. Yes, they were vital to the city of Arus, but she still didn’t like them. She only asked for Keith’s help because he was only half Gangrel.</p>
<p>She sighed heavily and rubbed her eyes. The sun would be rising soon. She needed to get some sleep. Once Allura was asleep, then she would be able to figure out a new plan of attack… Maybe she should invite Lance over to squeeze some more information out of him too? She’d figure it out after she had a long sleep.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Porcorum</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>It has been a while but here is the next chapter. Enjoy :D</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next evening Allura waited patiently in her dining room. She decided to assert her dominance by wearing a tight, white, sleeveless silk dress. Along with white shoes, white stockings, and pearl and diamond jewelry. Coran seemed to be shocked by her striking attire, but nodded in approval.</p><p>Coran had laid out the finer crystal glasses, no need for cutlery, though she did have a fine, custom made aluminium set that looked just as good, if not better than silver. She drummed her fingers against the table as she waited. Eventually, the phone rang and Coran informed her that Lotor had just arrived.</p><p>She adjusted herself in her seat and waited for Lotor to come in. The vampire had tied his flowing silver hair back in a loose ponytail. His suit was dark purple and red. Very normal for most well dressed Vampires wore. Anything dark. He seemed taken aback by her stunning white visage.</p><p>“I must say, you look radiant this evening.” He said to her.</p><p>“Charming as always.” Said Allura. She gestured for him to sit, which he did. Once he was settled, Coran came over with a bottle of wine and a bottle of O+ blood.</p><p>“Half and half?” He asked. “Two thirds wine, one third blood? One third wine, two thirds blood?”</p><p>“Two thirds blood.” Said Lotor.</p><p>Coran nodded and went about pouring Lotor a rather large glass full of the red liquids. He then poured Allura her usual blend. “If you need me again for any reason, please don’t hesitate to call me for a refill.”</p><p>“Thank you Coran. You are dismissed.” Once Coran had left the room and the two of them took a sip of their drinks, she spoke. “So, what information do you have to give me?”</p><p>“Straight down to business?”</p><p>“I don’t have time for idle chit chat.”</p><p>“Very well.” Lotor drank some more of his wine. “I assume you know about what happened at the arena last night?”</p><p>“Yes. Lance was kind enough to inform me of the situation.”</p><p>“Yes… Well some stuff that Lance and Keith said to Sendak before everything went a little crazy, that I thought was really strange.” He drank some more of his drink. “They were right. The arena is the largest gathering of our kin outside of the clubs. Yet the clubs are the only places where some cases of tainted blood are happening?”</p><p>Allura nodded in agreement. “True… This is concerning…”</p><p>“Sendak suggested that the Gangrel are immune to the blood disease that’s happening.” Said Lotor. “Like the Nosferatu and the bubonic plague.”</p><p>“Hmm it is possible…” She drank some more of her drink and hummed a little. “Well if that’s all the information you have for me, then you can leave. “</p><p>“If that was all I had to offer you I could have just made a phone call.” Lotor took a folded card out of his pocket and tossed it to her. She snatched it up and looked at the one word scrawled across it. It looked like a password; P0rc0RUm. “I have it on good authority that the blood supplied at the arena is not ethically sourced. It seems as though the arena blood is farmed.”</p><p>That made Allura’s blood boil. “What? Farmed humans? Are you serious?”</p><p>“Yes. But as far as I can tell it’s not something that my father approved of. After what happened between him and Alfor, he abandoned the idea of trying to turn human inhabitants of Arus into battery farmed humans instead of letting them remain freerange.” Said Lotor calmly.</p><p>Allura was fuming. “I see… This is… Are you sure Zarkon knows nothing of this?”</p><p>“Zarkon has prioritized keeping the Gangrel in check and looking after my mother.” Said Lotor. “She still has bouts of incomprehensible ramblings and Haggar shows up once in a while to annoy me, but it is how it is.”</p><p>“So there is no way Zarkon is responsible?” Asked Allura in a sarcastic tone. She was done with this. </p><p>“I understand that you have prejudice against Gangrel, but he isn’t like how he used to be.”</p><p>“Oh really? So if I send them down there and they have some kind human battery farm that Zarkon commissioned, you won’t care if I demand Zarkon come here and answer for it?”</p><p>Lotor chuckled. “Go ahead. He is my father in name alone. Please, go and let your Paladin’s know that the door they need to put the code in is around.”</p><p>Allura glared at him and quickly shot Lance a text informing him of the situation. “There. If your information proves to be true, then I’m more than happy to reward you.”</p><p>“Oh please. I didn’t come here to for sex with you.”</p><p>“Do you prefer men? I can call Lance.”</p><p>“No, sex was no on my mind.” Said Lotor calmly. “I do not care that much for it. My reasons for helping you are but simple reasons. I wish to improve the status of the Gangrel in your eyes. I know that after what happened you see us lower than Nosferatu. I simply wish to gain favour with you.”</p><p>“Well you shall certainly get it if your information proves correct.” Said Allura calmly.</p><p>***</p><p>The minute Keith stepped through the door of the dingy little apartment, Adam and Curtis were all over him. They could smell the blood on him, and not just any blood. The blood of their sire. They were extremely worried about what happened to Shiro. They were a little less worried about the hole that was still in his chest.</p><p>It took Keith a few minutes to explain what had happened and that Shiro was okay before the vampires calmed down. They then stuffed bloodpacks into Keith’s mouth to try and get his wound to heal. It was just a pink splotch scar on his chest by the next evening when he got a text from Lance.</p><p>
  <strong>Lance</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>Hey there sugar fangs.</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Keith</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>What?</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Lance</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>Allura wants us to check out a place near the arena.</em>
  <br/>
  <em>In other words, you, me, and Shiro.</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Keith</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>Do we have to?</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Lance</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>You want to go against the Vampire princess?</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Keith</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>No...</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>Lance</strong>
  <br/>
  <em>Okay, see you around the entrance to the Nosferatu’s lair.</em>
</p><p>It took Keith twenty minutes to pull himself away from Adam and Curtis. Neither of them would let him leave until he promised that he would bring Shiro back by the end of the evening. He had left Shiro to sleep the day away in their lair. He was there and waiting with Lance when he walked into the Nosferatu lair.</p><p>“So, no Pidge or Hunk tonight?” He asked.</p><p>Lance shook his head. “Allura says this requires us three. She has other jobs for Hunk and Pidge. I think that’s Allura speak for she doesn’t care what they do at the moment. She wants us to do it.”</p><p>“Sounds interesting…” Muttered Shiro. “But isn’t it a bad idea since I kind of messed up a few people at the arena last night?”</p><p>Lance shrugged. “It’s whatever. You proved your worth and I doubt anyone would harass you.”</p><p>“Eh, fine…”</p><p>The trio ended up heading back to the arena, and much to Keith and Shiro’s surprise, Lance was right. The Gangrel and Nosferatu that were there just snarled at them and gave them dirty looks. A little away from the arena there were a few places selling some blood packs.</p><p>Lance happily sauntered up to the Gangrel selling blood packs for a few bucks. “Hey there cutie.” Cooed Lance. “Where are you getting all that blood from?”</p><p>“Reputable sources of course.” They said. They showed them a blood pack, showing that it came from the Platt blood bank the next town over. “We do our best to ethically source our blood. Last thing we need is the Princess getting pissed off at us for no reason.”</p><p>“Very true. I’ll take three.” Lance happily bought three bags and tossed two of them at Keith and Shiro. “Here. Drink up.”</p><p>Shiro frowned a little and took a few sips. Keith did the same and pulled a face. “It’s good. Really good.”</p><p>“Too good.” Said Shiro. “Less than a few days. Not filtered… It’s like drinking straight from the source.”</p><p>Keith looked around the area and noticed a few vampires just milling around just drinking blood and talking. They seemed more interested in drinking blood rather than fighting. Keith wasn’t surprised he didn’t see it the other night. He and Lance were on the other side of the arena and were trying to talk to Sendak. That man still gave Keith the creeps. </p><p>He sniffed the air and frowned a little. The blood here was way too fresh to be from Platt. The bags might have been from there, but bagged blood, while it was okay, never tasted this good. He sniffed the bag a few times, getting the distincts smell of medical plastic.</p><p>“Follow me.” Said Keith. He had a very strong sense of smell and was a very good tracker. Keith had always been a very good tracker. He followed the smell of plastic past the vampires and through one of the many drains that connected to the arena. A few vampires were hanging around them and just talking.</p><p>They eventually didn’t have to follow Keith’s nose when they saw vampires walking past with coolers filled with blood bags. They could all smell the plastic now.</p><p>“What are you thinking?” Asked Shiro. He ran his thumb over the side of his prosthetic. A few pieces popped out, but he pushed them back in and kept turning until it clicked open like a box. He tilted his arm and took out what looked like an ivory nightstick.</p><p>“Remember that case we had in London a few years back?” Asked Keith. “Could be another farm.”</p><p>“What happened in London?” Asked Lance as he eyed the nightstick.</p><p>“People were going missing.” Said Shiro. “A fair few were being found in bogs or were hidden in old crypts. The Nosferatu of London weren’t happy about this and were trying to figure out what was going on. When we showed up only their leader gave us the rundown; runaways and immigrants were turning up completely drained of blood and missing their spleens, kidneys, and livers.”</p><p>“Missing organs?” Questioned the vampire.</p><p>Shiro shrugged. “Those organs do have the most blood. Mashed up and filtered you can extract more blood from a body.”</p><p>“... Ew. Organ blood… That’s nasty.” Lance pulled a face. Disgusted by that thought.</p><p>“Yeah, anyway, some vampires were luring people to farms with the promise of work, but well… Human farm. They would keep them alive for as long as possible before draining them dry, squeezing out every last drop before they disposed of the waste product. The elite vampires of London were too lazy to find and collect their own blood. Lazy assholes.”</p><p>They ducked down an inconspicuous looking path that ended with a rather heavy looking metal door with a keypad. It looked like it had recently been open. Lance walked over to the keypad and started to punch in a code.</p><p>“How did you get the code?” Asked Keith.</p><p>“Allura.” Said Lance with a grin on his face. “You know she’s always feeding me information for stuff like this.” He put in the last part of the code and hit enter. The door clicked open and Lance happily held it open. “Ladies first.”</p><p>Keith rolled his eyes and walked past him, into an extremely cold room. He might be dead, mostly, and the cold didn’t bother him, but even he knew this was colder than it should be. There were several racks filled with hundreds of blood bags. It was a little shocking for them to see so much blood in one place that was bagged so easily. There shouldn’t be this much blood. It would go bad in a day or too, no matter how cold they kept it. Even if they froze it, frozen blood tasted pretty bad.</p><p>They ventured further into the cold room until they came to the backroom that was separated from the storage area by a thick plastic curtain. Keith pushed it back and what they found was shocking, but not surprising. It was a human farm.</p><p>Dozens of bodies were strapped to makeshift recliner chairs, or hung upside down by their ankles. The ones hanging upside down already had their throats slit and the last of their blood was getting drained into tubs. Further down the bodies were gutted and their entrails sorted. There were also a few large tubs with dirty looking clothing in it.</p><p>Lance made a disgusted noise. “Well… I guess this explains why there’s hardly any homeless people in Gangrel territory… Are the ones in the chairs okay?”</p><p>Shiro checked on one of the humans strapped to a chair closest to them. He frowned and shook his head. “The cold might be slowing their heart rate down, but they aren’t going to survive without a huge blood transfusion.”</p><p>“Shame.” Lance took his phone out and took a few pictures, even took a selfie with the organ box.</p><p>“The fuck are you doing?” Asked Keith.</p><p>“Getting photo evidence for Allura.” </p><p>“And the selfie?”</p><p>“Because I look cute?”</p><p>“You look like a moron.”</p><p>“A cute moron?”</p><p>“That’s enough you two.” Said Shiro. “Let’s make sure that Allura gets those photos and let her handle this.”</p><p>“Fine.” Muttered Lance. He hit send on his phone. “Alright, let’s go and get surface level. Get some reception. Allura’s gonna be pissed when she sees this.”</p><p>***</p><p>Allura wasn’t pissed. She was fuming. She was so angry she almost broke her phone in her hand. Lotor on the other hand was smirking at her. “Did something happen?” </p><p>“A human farm.” She growled. “A fucking human farm. Fuck this shit. I am going to kill Zarkon.”</p><p>“I should remind you that Sendak is in charge of the arena at the moment.”</p><p>Allura was still angry. “I’ll schedule a meeting with both of them for tomorrow evening. Until then…” She stood up and walked over to Lotor, grabbing him by the throat. She caressed his neck with her thumb, right over his jugular. “And you… I need to work out some frustrations. Will you help me work out my frustrations?”</p><p>“Of course my queen.” Said Lotor in an amused tone.</p><p>“Good.” She purred. “Think warm thoughts Lotor. I’m going to fuck you up tonight.”</p><p>“Kinky. I like it.”</p>
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<a name="section0017"><h2>17. The duality of vampires</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hope this gives you all a little more insight into Allura's ruthless nature and her dynamic with Lance. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Allura had called a meeting with Sendak and Zarkon the next evening. They seemed confused as to why they had been invited to her penthouse, but there they were. They both sat at her table while Coran just poured them blood without asking them for their alcohol preference. Minutes later Allura was there, wearing white and happily baring her fangs.</p><p>“Gentlemen.” She said calmly. “How are you this evening? Zarkon, such a long time. We haven’t spoken since I cut your territory in half and had over half of your clan executed for regicide I believe? And Sendak, you would have been executed too if you weren’t in the city at the time.”</p><p>Zarkon cleared his throat. “Allura-”</p><p>“Queen.” She corrected. “I am the vampire queen of Arus. You shall address me as such.”</p><p>“Queen Allura, what is the meaning of this?” Asked Zarkon.</p><p>Allura smirked at him, flashing her fangs. “I’m glad you asked. So, I have it on good authority that the arena is farming humans. Doing a little more of my own digging and crunching the numbers it seems as though we shouldn’t be getting this much blood from the hospitals in the city and surrounding places, and attacks haven’t been up either.” She then slammed her hands down on the table, digging her nails in, leaving deep scratches. “Why the fuck is there an almost 300% increase in human disappearances?! What the fuck are you two trying to pull?!”</p><p>“We aren’t farming humans!” Growled Sendak.</p><p>“Bullshit!” Hissed Allura. “I have photo evidence that you lot are farming humans! Grinding them up too to get all the blood out of them too! How is this not farming humans?!</p><p>Sandak rolled his eyes. “They are willing participants.”</p><p>“ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?!” Allura practically screeched.</p><p>Sendak shrugged. “It isn’t really that shocking is it? Look. We all know humans are fucked up creatures. We all remember the days were we would find some fucking sap hanging from a tree in the middle of fucking nowhere for no reason. Waste not want not. This is just the modern equivalent.”</p><p>Allura still looked pissed, but sat at the table. “Explain.”</p><p>“Depression, anxiety, hopelessness and despair… Are these not the things that humans frequently fall into?” Asked Sendak with a smirk. “There are many places on the internet where these people congregate. Why not exploit it? We find the people that want to die and give them what they want. We give them a sedative that doesn’t mess with the taste of the blood and give them a nice, quick, clean death.”</p><p>“How is draining them of blood quick?” She hissed.</p><p>Sendak shrugged. “They never complain. Plus it’s not really farming. Many of these people were going to kill themselves anyway. What does it matter?”</p><p>“You don’t think the humans will get suspicious?” She growled. “Too many people going missing and we are completely fucked.”</p><p>“They would have gone missing anyway.” Said Sendak. “Think of it as organ donations. Their deaths have provided a valuable service for us and we have thrived because of it and-”</p><p>“A little too much.”</p><p>“Come again?”</p><p>Allura’s smile turned venomous. “The Gangrel clan has grown quite large over the past few decades, has it not? I think it’s well overdue for a cull.” There was a chill in the air as she glared them down. “I have several people from that clan. You should know of him Sendak. I heard he had a lot of fun in your arena the other night?” Sendak said nothing and looked away. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”</p><p>Zarkon cleared his throat. “Please forgive us Queen Allura. We assumed that this was outside of the rules you had set in place. We’ll remove it straight away.”</p><p>“No need.” Said Allura. “I already have people to take care of that. Any leftover assets will be liquidated and your stocks and confiscating any blood to be distributed to the other, more deserving clans.”</p><p>Sendak growled and was ready to stand up and yell at her, but Zarkon held him back. “I’m sorry for breaking the rules. We shall deal with this internally.”</p><p>“I would hope so.” She gave them a dismissive wave. “Leave.”</p><p>Zarkon nodded and quickly stood up, dragging Sendak with him. “Until next time.” </p><p>Allura just rolled her eyes and gestured for them to hurry up and leave. Coran quickly got them into the elevator and sent them on their way. Once they were alone, Zarkon grabbed Sendak by the throat and slammed him hard enough against the wall to make the whole thing shake.</p><p>“What the fuck are you thinking?” He growled. “You were fucking farming humans? Did you learn nothing from when I tried to do that?!”</p><p>Sendak glared at him. “If you’ve forgotten, we all need to eat. Technology is making it harder to snap up a human. Every fucking human has recording devices and all kinds of fucking bullshit. You know it’s only a matter of time before we have to start farming them. Maybe even breeding them. We need food and I for one am not going to stand back and let everyone else starve to death because Allura isn’t helping us.”</p><p>“Just because she isn’t helping us doesn’t mean we can get cocky and do what we want with her knowledge.”</p><p>“... So we can do it without her knowledge?”</p><p>“It’s all about bending the rules.” Saod Zarkon. “Take this hit and learn from it. Learn how to hide your operations better.”</p><p>Sendak frowned but nodded. “I’m going to stay away from the arena for a while… Go back to my club.”</p><p>“Good. That is probably for the best.”</p><p>When they got to the ground floor they almost walked straight into Keith and Lance. The two other vampires seemed just as surprised to see the others. “Oh hey Zarkon.” Said Lance. “Long time no see. Always nice to see you. Same to you Sendak.”</p><p>Sendak grunted a little at him and looked over at Keith. “The fuck are you stairing at?”</p><p>“Nothing…” He muttered.</p><p>Zarkon frowned and walked past them, quickly followed by Sendak. He had enough talking to these other clans. He needed to get home and try to figure out how to stop his clan from going up in arms. He couldn’t really go against Allura at the moment. He needed more support from his clan and other clans before he even attempted to try eradicating Allura’s clan.</p><p>***</p><p>Keith felt uneasy. It was the second time he had seen Sendak and he got strong feelings when he saw him. A deadly chill. His stomach turned. He felt like there was something very, very wrong with that man. He just wasn’t sure why, but he didn’t like him. Maybe it was just his Gangrel instincts?</p><p>“You okay there Keith?” Asked Lance. He was leaning against the side of the elevator.</p><p>“Yeah… Sendak’s just… So why are we here again?”</p><p>“Information.” Said Lance happily.</p><p>“Yeah, but are you giving or getting it?” Asked Keith. “Why am I here anyway?”</p><p>“Hmm, because you are pretty?” Keith rolled his eyes and kicked Lance in the shin. “Ow! The fuck?”</p><p>“Call me pretty again and I’ll kick your ass so hard you’ll be coughing up toenails.”</p><p>“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the coffin.” He grumbled. The doors eventually upended up and Lance happily walked out. “Allura!”</p><p>“Lance!” The vampire queen was wearing a long, floor length red robe. “How wonderful to see you here again, and you brought Keith too. It’s nice to see you again.”</p><p>Keith nodded a little. “Yeah. You too.”</p><p>She smiled happily at them and got Coran to offer them a drink. After that Allura and Lance made themselves comfortable on the couch. Lance practically draped himself over Allura’s legs like some kind of cat. Allura didn’t seem to mind and happily ran her nails across Lance’s scalp. It made the vampire shudder a little. It made Keith feel uncomfortable.</p><p>He had met many vampires like Allura in the past. Narcissistic vampires drunk on power. It was kind of natural for clan leaders to be like this. Even among humans. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. It kind of made him shiver to think what depraved things vampires in power got up to. Mostly killing the poorer human population for their blood. Then there were some fucking too and maybe dismemberment. Vampires didn’t really care too much about human morals when they were so high up the food chain.</p><p>“... You two are very close.” Said Keith. “How did you two even meet?”</p><p>Allura chuckled a little as she continued to scratch behind Lance’s ear like a cat. “Well, the Toreador clan was one of the first few clans that my father brought into this city. Luxia wanted to expand her clan so my father let her sire three humans every ten years for… I think a century? She also adopted wandering Toreador’s that had been abandoned by their sires. Like Lance.”</p><p>Lance nodded in agreement. “Yeah. I met Allura close to the mid nineteen hundreds. At a gala or something?”</p><p>“Yes… I think it was a charity Christmas gala.” She sighed a little as she closed her eyes and smiled. “Ah yes… It was for the sick children and orphans at some hospital. One of the fathers at the local church dressed as Santa and handed out gifts for all the children. It was very cute.”</p><p>“Yeah, I was sick the whole time.” Said Lance. “Luxia gave me a charm, but it was pretty weak and all that religious stuff messed me up pretty badly…”</p><p>Allura smiled a little and continued to stroke his hair. “It’s okay Lance. Not your fault that you got turned while you were Catholic. Though I must say I was very lucky to be born before Christianity poisoned this land… Then again I don’t have to worry about any religious artifacts that might hurt me being anywhere outside of a museum.” She sighed. “Anyway, you should know by now that the Toreador’s prefer females to join their clan. They very rarely let men join them. So I was intrigued.”</p><p>Lance happily smiled up at him. “Yep. I’m pretty special huh?”</p><p>“That you are. You are very, very special.” She cooed. “Such a good little serpent.”</p><p>Lance preened under the attention, happily basking in as much of it as possible. He probably would have tried to get more if Coran hadn’t called him away for a brief moment to grab something. Leaving Keith alone with Allura.</p><p>There was an awkward silence for a beat before Allura spoke to him. “Tonight has been a stressful night. I have had to organize vampires to destroy the human farm in the arena. This will throw some blood distribution into chaos, but it had to be done.”</p><p>“I’m thankful that you are on top of this.” Said Keith calmly.</p><p>“Hmm, so you have been watching us.” Allura said calmly with a small smile on their face. “Interested in one or both of us?”</p><p>Keith could feel his face heating up. “No, I… I’m gay. I’m not…”</p><p>“So you want Lance? You can have him if you want.”</p><p>“Y-you can’t just throw him at me like that!”</p><p>Allura laughed. “My oh my, you are much too sensitive. That would be your human side still shining through after all these years. Keith, you’re only half vampire, you don’t know what it is like to be a full vampire and the need you get to chase all forms of pleasure. Lance hasn’t turned down the chance to fuck yet. Even if he doesn’t really like the individual, he does enjoy draining them of their blood.”</p><p>“Oh yeah?” </p><p>“Yes.” She chuckled and smiled at him. “You are too sensitive after all this time. It is very cute you know. I’m surprised you survived this long. But like I said. It’s because you’re not a full vampire.” As she said that she took her pendant out from under her robe. Keith couldn’t help but eye it. “You know, this blood will not mean you become a full vampire, right? It’s a coin toss. Flip a coin and you are either fully human or fully vampire.”</p><p>“What will you do if I’m human?” Asked Keith. “Will you kill me?”</p><p>Allura seemed amused. “I think you know how important keeping up the masquerade is. If you do become human I will give you some additional help. Heck, I will even employ you here. Get all your papers in order. You’ll be a normal human. You will live, breathe, eat food, get sick, age, and die. Like everyone else.”</p><p>“To be fair, dying would be nice.”</p><p>She shrugged and leaned back on the couch. “I guess, though the second death is something we have. We are not immortal after all. Though we can prevent death from coming to us… Would you even want to be a vampire? I could sire you? Make you a ghoul? My little fledgeling? I am the only Ventura in this city. Might be nice to have another vampire around or a ghoul.”</p><p>“I think I’ll be fine.”</p><p>“Really?” She almost smirked at him. “While I did say you are not a full vampire because of your morals, you aren’t a full human either. You have lived longer as a vampire than a human. What happens if you hunger and crave that iron? You’ll see some cute human walking down the street, the perfect body type and age. Their blood is perfect and ripe for the taking. You get them alone, bite their throat but… You can’t bite them. You have no fangs. You get arrested and thrown in prison for assault. Possibly sexual assault.”</p><p>“...” Keith had never thought of that. He really had been a vampire for way longer than he had been a human. There would be some behaviours he would need to break if he was going to exist as a human. “And if I am a vampire?”</p><p>“Then you continue as you are. You will be a full Gangrel.” </p><p>Keith nodded a little as he thought about it. If he was a full vampire then nothing would change. He would keep on being a creature of the night. Maybe Shiro would tell him he should find a Gangrel clan to join since he wouldn’t need his protection anymore? He didn’t know.</p><p>***</p><p>As the two vampires talked, Lance was talking with Coran. While vampires were a good source of information, he knew for a fact that ghouls were much, much better at gathering information. They were generally ignored by other vampires and could move about practically unnoticed. They knew things.</p><p>They moved to a more private part of the penthouse, Coran’s room. It wasn’t as lavished as Allura’s but it was still well decorated. It was large enough for Coran to have a table and chair set up, which they both sat at to talk.</p><p>“Alright Coran. Spill, what’s happening behind the scenes?”</p><p>Coran shook his head. “Can’t say. I need information for information.”</p><p>“What kind of information?”</p><p>“Tell me about your group. What have you found out about the people you are working with.”</p><p>Lance shrugged. “There isn’t much to talk about. I’m sure you already know the truth about most of them. Hunk’s desire is to live his life with Shay and their half breed child. Pidge is consumed by revenge and wants nothing more than to kill the vampires that took away her parents. Keith wants to be a full something. Shiro wants to sever his connection to his sire. One of the first vampires in Asia.”</p><p>“Hmm, very true.” Said Coran. “That was everything we already knew about them. But surely you know more things? Information is very powerful. It’s more valuable than blood.”</p><p>“Agreed.” Lance thought for a bit. “Hmm, well what other things would you like to know? I need specifics here.”</p><p>“Hmm, Keith. Tell me about him.” Said Coran. He looked quite happy when he said that.</p><p>Lance chuckled. “Well, there isn’t too much to say about him. A day walker. His Gangrel instincts really helped finding the human farm… And he seems to be a little strange around Sendak.”</p><p>“Sendak?”</p><p>“Yeah, it was subtle but he kept giving him weird looks… What can you tell me about Sendak?”</p><p>Coran thought for a moment. “Sendak was around before Allura was born. He was one of the first humans that Zarkon sired himself back in whatever home country that Sendak was from… That country probably doesn’t exist anymore… Well, you know how it is. He is very bloodthirsty. Ruthless. Like most Gangrel… He was very against Alfor’s vision for a free range human society that we interwove ourselves into.”</p><p>“Let me guess, he was one of the ones that encouraged Zarkon to kill Alfor and take over?”</p><p>“Of course.” Said Coran. “After everything that happened we kept Zarkon and Sendak on a very tight leash. Still do. Allura will probably force a cull soon. Like last time.”</p><p>“Sounds painful.”</p><p>“It will be.” He said. “Allura forced Zarkon to cull his own clan until she decided he had killed enough.” </p><p>“Brutal.”</p><p>He nodded in agreement. “Allura is many things. She is kind and generous when you please her, but get on her bad side, she is a monster and will show all that she is a vampire first and a queen second.”</p>
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<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Unrest</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Things are heating up... Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Tremere clan ended up cleaning up the human farm that Sendak was running. A few Gangrel protested, but for all their barking they got their asses set on fire and killed. It only took a few dozen of them trying to snap up some blood packs before they all left the arena. There wasn’t much they could do about the semi living humans still there, so they were liquidated and their blood was added to the stockpile. </p><p>Pidge had been tasked with trawling through the shitty computer they were using to fish for new blood. She shut down those cheap looking sites and then started digging deeper. Allura had practically screamed at her whole clan over the phone to find everything. It was annoying, but Pidge loved to get her hands on information.</p><p>She copied everything onto hard drives to go through them later in the comfort of her own home. Hopefully Ryner would be back soon and she could talk with her about these things. She packed her things and headed back out.</p><p>Pidge passed a few Tremere that were organizing and blending body parts. She got splattered with a stray arterial spray as one of her clan disposed of the last living humans in the human farm.</p><p>She made her way outside and took a deep breath when she was out in the midnight air. It had been a long time since she had been turned into a vampire and stuck in the body of a teenager for centuries. At the time she had been embraced she was seen as practically an adult. She was even arranged to marry a man when she turned seventeen in the next village over. Another druid like the rest of her family. She did feel a little bad about not even meeting the guy, but these things happen when your family is murdered and you need revenge.</p><p>As she walked down the street towards her hotel, she felt as though she was being watched. Not abnormal, but she would still take precautions. Pidge cracked her knuckles and muttered some choice words under her breath. Pidge was no stranger to the absolute sewer rats of human society trying to grab her.</p><p>“Pidge.”</p><p>She instantly calmed and turned to see her sire. Ryner. The leader of the Tremere. She was a thin and gaunt woman, with very pale skin and wispy platinum blond hair.</p><p>“Hey Ryner. Back from your trip?”</p><p>“Indeed.” She sighed a little and scratched her head. “Well, I have been informed a lot about what has happened over the past few nights. How are you fairing?”</p><p>“I’m good. No closer to finding the source of the infection though. Which sucks.”</p><p>“Yes, that’s a difficult one… Whatever Allura promised you, is it worth it?”</p><p>“Come again?” Pidge was a little cautious. Ryner was her sire and someone she respected greatly. The only people she listened to and too seriously were her and her brother Matt. If she was telling her to be careful about Allura, then she couldn’t help but pay attention and take it seriously.</p><p>“Allura is a Venture. She will hold onto power no matter what.” Said Ryner calmly. “That is how it is. It’s in her nature and she has always been in charge. The Venture clan has always been in charge. Whatever she is going to give you for your help should be taken with a grain of salt.” </p><p>Pidge scoffed. “Whatever. If she can give me what I want then I don’t care. Ryner, we are vampires. I don’t give a fuck about any of that shit anymore. All those stupid morals and judgment calls all amount to nothing in the long run.”</p><p>Ryner sighed and shook her head. “Well, if that is what you wish, then do what you wish. You are not a little fledgling anymore. You may do as you wish.”</p><p>The younger vampire was kind of surprised. “Yeah?”</p><p>“You are surprised?”</p><p>“Well, a little.” She admitted. “I would have thought that you might have wanted to scold me and make me rethink my life, or in this case, death choices.”</p><p>“Like I said, you are old enough to make your own decisions.” Said Ryner. She smiled kindly at Pidge and gently patted her head. “I hope to see you at the library again soon. You and Matt.” She didn’t wait for Pidge to reply and simply drifted down the street back to the library.</p><p>Pidge shuddered a little, but quickly continued on her walk back home. She and Matt would go through the hard drive. They would probably need to work through the night and all through the day too. It had been too long since Pidge had seen the sun.</p><p>***</p><p>Keith was out that night too. The previous night having to go to Allura’s penthouse was… interesting to say the least. He had woken up a little earlier than the other vampires and was able to watch the sunset. It was beautiful. He turned on the TV and waited until the trio of other vampires stumbled out of their shared bedroom.</p><p>From the look in their eyes, Keith knew he had to get out of the house that night. The triad were sharing lustful looks which made Keith sick. He said some basic greetings, grabbed a blood pack, and ran out the door. So Keith was wandering the streets.</p><p>Keith didn’t walk around places that had many people. He preferred to stick to the streets that were occupied by other vampires. He could tell that many of them were agitated and didn’t look very happy in general. They probably knew all about Allura destroying the blood supply in the Arena and weren’t happy about it. </p><p>Not that Keith could blame them. Through his many years he had seen dozens of vampires try to create human farms. Some were more successful than others. The worst case he had seen was a clan in the Tibetan mountains. He wasn’t too sure how long they had been farming humans, but they had been breeding them long enough for this subspecies of humans to start to mutate and adapt to living in the cave. The nest and everyone inside were swiftly eliminated.</p><p>Suddenly the hairs on the back of Keith’s neck stood on end and he glanced over at a car, seeing the reflection of someone following him. Maybe. Keith continued to walk down the street, but kept an eye out for reflective surfaces. They were still following him.</p><p>After a few minutes of this, Keith ducked into an alleyway and quickly looked around until he found a bin lid. He quickly grabbed it, and flung it like a frisbee. The man following Keith caught the lid and chuckled a little. </p><p>“Good reflexes. You’re a day walker, aren’t you?” They almost growled out.</p><p>Keith growled at them, baring his fangs. “Don’t you call me something so derogatory. I’m a Gangrel.”</p><p>“And so am I.” They said as they put down the bin lid. “The name is Kolivan. I’m the leader of the Gangrel that’s opposed to the rule of Zarkon. The mad bastard. Anyway, enough about that. I was there that night in the arena and saw both you and your friend fighting. Not bad. I would have gone to you earlier, but you kind of ran away and I had things I needed to do.”</p><p>“Yeah, and?” He muttered.</p><p>Kolivan shrugged. “I wanted to talk to you. You are working with Allura, right? I believe we have similar interests in keeping Allura in power and making sure that this disease doesn’t topple her rule. Allura might be a parasitic bitch, but she’s better than the rest that could try and take her place.”</p><p>“And why not just talk to her about this?”</p><p>“Because Allura is still spiteful towards Gangrel.” Said Kolivan. “Now, would you kindly follow me? I would rather talk in a place that is more secure. Many vampires might be indifferent to Allura’s rule, but if there is a chance to get ahead in this city by ratting someone out to her, then they will. Especially since the blood supply in the arena has run dry.”</p><p>“I guess…”</p><p>Kolivan nodded and the two of them ended up walking to some sleazy looking bar. Lots of people were smoking in there and drinking heavily. They glanced over at Kolivan and nodded at him. They looked at Keith and gave him questioning looks, but they didn’t seem to care too much.</p><p>They sat in a booth near the back of the bar. Keith could tell that the people in the bar were all vampires. Gangrel vampires too. Keith didn’t mind. He was kind of among his people. Kolivan waved over at the bartender and the two of them were quickly handed pints of beer laced with blood. Thick, red, and smelled awful. Tasted fine though.</p><p>Keith drank a mouthful and looked up at him. “So, what now? Why am I here?”</p><p>“You haven’t been here long, but I’m sure you know that the Gangrel clan is over populating this city.” Said Kolivan. “In this city the Gangrel have become so large they have split in two. The Galra that follow Zarkon and are the majority. The Mamora are the Gangrel that follow me. There are some very strange and shady things happening under Zarkon’s rule.”</p><p>“Like Sendak’s human farm?”</p><p>“That was an open secret at worst and a rumor at best.” Said Kolivan. “That is the curse of the vampire, we need blood to survive That’s just how it is.”</p><p>“Philosophy aside, what’s your point?”</p><p>“Arus is at a tipping point.” Said Kolivan. He took a piece of paper out of his pocket and gave it to Keith. “Give this to Allura. She will know what it is.”</p><p>Keith frowned slightly and looked at the paper. It was a bunch of really weird symbols that he couldn’t read. “And this is?”</p><p>“Cuneiform.” Said Kolivan. “One of the first written languages in human history. Also one of the languages that the first generation of vampires used and continued to use for several generations. You young ones don’t know anything about it.”</p><p>“And how would you know that I’m unable to read it?”</p><p>“You already admitted it.” Said Kolivan calmly. “Anyway, the Venture are always teaching their offspring and fledglings how to read and write cuneiform. Many won’t even consider them part of their clan until they can read and write it fluently.”</p><p>Keith frowned and tucked it into his pocket. “Right… Anyway, the tipping point?”</p><p>“I think you can see it. You are a Gangrel too. Gangrel are not good at playing with others. We prefer solitude. The overpopulation of Gangrel in the city is just as deadly as the disease that’s currently ravaging the clans. This city is much more of a powder keg than Allura realizes… and by destroying the blood supply at the arena she’s getting very close to throwing a lit match into that keg and breaking the masquerade.”</p><p>“No one would ever punish her if she broke the masquerade.” Said Keith calmly. “Even then, we would have way more problems to deal with if humans found out that we exist.”</p><p>Kolivan nodded in agreement. “History does show that humans tend to kill the things they do not understand… Though it would be nice to see what humans could make of our DNA… They could find a cure to Vampirism.”</p><p>“But what vampire would take it?” Asked Keith. </p><p>“A day walker might.” Said Kolivan calmly as he continued to drink.</p><p>“I’m a full vampire.” Keith said in an annoyed tone. “Stop saying that disrespectful shit.”</p><p>Kolivan just rolled his eyes. “Keith, I am much older than you are. I can read and write cuneiform… Mamora is here to try and make sure that the masquerade stays just that. A masquerade. Allura might not like Gangrel, but we both have found an enemy in Zarkon and the Galra. With things going the way they are, the masquerade will either shatter or the Gangrel will be culled.”</p><p>***</p><p>Lotor sighed heavily as he looked through the numbers in his books. He expected his club to take a hit after he gave Allura that juice piece of information, but he had a good idea of what he needed to do to make sure his club continued to have blood.</p><p>There was a knock at his door and Narti walked in. Lotor had always been very relaxed with her dress code. She was currently wearing a black hoodie with the club’s logo on the back with the hood up. She didn’t speak much. Never had. She passed Lotor a clipboard with their special inventory.</p><p>“Ah, thank you.” Lotor took it from her, noticing a scratch on the back of her hand. “Get into a fight with a cat did you?”</p><p>Narti froze for a moment before looking down at her hand. She shrugged and put her hands in her pocket. She didn’t seem to want to talk about it.</p><p>Lotor didn’t want to press the issue. Narti was able to take care of herself. “Well, if that was a customer, just kick them out. If it was a cat, throw it in front of a bus.” He looked down back at the clipboard and noticed a few drops of blood on the paper. “... Go down and take a full blood pack. You clearly need it. Take an AB-. We have lots of that in stock.”</p><p>The female vampire hesitated for a bit before she nodded and quickly left his office. Once she was gone, Lotor went back to looking at his books. Now that Allura was pissed off, he wondered what her next move would be? He had heard about how she tore both Sendak and Zarkon a new one, which he loved, so he knew she was mad. </p><p>Her next move was going to be a violent one, and he was living for it. Well, as living as a vampire could be. He chuckled a little and was about to start looking through the inventory Narti had given him when Acxa burst into his office. She looked panicked. </p><p>“We have a problem.” She said. “It’s Narti.”</p><p>Lotor immediately stood up and followed Acxa to their cold storage where they kept their blood inventory for customers. Blood was smeared all over the floor from burt blood packs. Deep scratches were dug into the concrete. Zethrid had Narti pinned against the wall. She was practically foaming at the mouth and thrashing. She was trying desperately to get out of her grip.</p><p>“I’m so sorry Narti!” Said Zethrid before she slammed the other’s head against the wall. There was a sickening crack and she was knocked out cold.</p><p>“... Tie her up immediately.” Ordered Lotor. “Where is Ezor?”</p><p>“Manning the bar.” Said Acxa as she went out to grab something to restrain the other.</p><p>While she was doing that, Lotor turned his attention to Zethrid. “What happened?”</p><p>Zethrid shrugged. “I don’t know. Narti has been acting more withdrawn and weird over the past few weeks. More so than usual. I came in here to see what she was doing and she just went berserk. I restrained her and Acxa came in and got you.</p><p>Acxa came in with a chair and duct tape. They taped Narti to the chair and pushed her hood off. Everyone froze in shock. She looked sickly. Her skin looked like it was stretched over a corpse. She had lesions all over her body in various stages of infection. Her mouth was opened slightly and much to their horror it looked like her gums had receded to the point she almost looked like she didn’t have gums anymore.</p><p>“Oh fuck…” Whispered Zethrid. “Not Narti…”</p><p>“How did this happen?” Asked Acxa. “Wasn’t she careful? How did she get her hands on tainted blood?”</p><p>Lotor shivered. He had always thought that they were careful with their blood. They only took blood from the hospital, wouldn’t even drink from random people. Did Narti take the risk? Was their blood supply tainted? Was their blood supply tainted?</p><p>“... Shut it down.” He said quietly.</p><p>Acxa gave him a confused look. “What?”</p><p>“Shut down the bar! We’re closed!” Snapped Lotor. “Until we know how the fuck Narti got infected we can’t sell blood! We can’t even drink any of the blood we already have! Shut down the club and someone tape Narti’s mouth shut so she can’t bite anyone!” This was not part of the plan.</p>
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<a name="section0019"><h2>19. Behind the scenes</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Happy New Year! Have a chapter about what everyone else is doing while the main 5 are off doing their own thing! Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The Purple Pit was Sendak’s club and where he decided to hang out to avoid any possible fallout that would occur because of Allura’s rash decisions. It pissed him off so much. Sendak had been one of the first vampires that Zarkon created. He had been alive longer than the princess had, and he knew so much more about farming humans than she could imagine.</p><p>If Allura could just let him and Zarkon have a proper farm then they could have blood for generations. They had dabbled with this idea during the medieval ages in Europe when the Plague first started. They quickly found that continuously interbreeding humans with their immediate family members, i.e, brothers and sisters, fathers and daughters, mothers and sons, it really quickly fucked up the gene pool and they died out in a minute.</p><p>At least during those times the vampire lords of the land that were originally against such practices turned a blind eye. Sendak was pretty sure that even Alfor kept a few humans in his dungeons to make sure his clan didn’t completely die out. They are practically dead now. As far as Sendak knew, Allura was the only Venture left in the city. If she was gone then Zarkon could take control. They could take whatever they wanted. No one would be able to say or do anything about it.</p><p>Sendak dreamed for the old days where he could single handedly ravage a village. He missed the screams and cries for mercy. He could still hear them calling out for their gods for help. Oh how they begged for Toutatis, Taranis, Cernunnos, and he was pretty sure someone called out for Epona once. He loved how scared they were. Their fear made their blood taste so much sweeter.</p><p>He looked down at his glass and frowned at the beer that slowly fizzed away in it. He missed the old days when just a normal cup of beer could make a man pass out in a drunken stupor. Beer these days was weak and the quality was shit. Humans had disgusting taste.</p><p>A short and stout looking man walked over to him. “Hey Sendak. How are things going?”</p><p>“Things could be better Morvok.” He muttered and didn’t bother looking at him. Morvok was… He was kind of a coward, but was sneaky and could cause trouble. Which was why he was given the task of just running the Two Moons. Another night club that was in a nicer part of town. So not too much trouble. He still came into Sendak’s club from time to time just to annoy him apparently.</p><p>“Yeah, heard about what Allura did. It’s a real shame. What’s Zarkon going to do now?”</p><p>“I have no idea. Zarkon wants me to lay low for a while and to not cause trouble.” He glanced down at his watch. It was getting close to the time. He finished his beer and stood up. “Well, I’m going to my office.” He tossed some money at Morvok. “Buy yourself some of the good stuff. Tell the bartender I sent you personally.”</p><p>That seemed to make him happy enough, and the portly vampire waddled off to get himself a drink. It made Sendak roll his eyes. He went upstairs to his office, and wasn’t surprised to see that his guest was already there. </p><p>They sat in a chair, her hood covered her head, but her grey hair fell wildly all over her face and neck. “‘You are late.” Grumbled Haggar.</p><p>“Sorry to keep you waiting.” Said Sendak as he took a seat. “Morvok caught me off guard. Anyway, thank you for coming. How are things with Zarkon?”</p><p>Haggar huffed and crossed her arms. “He is weak and growing weaker by the day. He no longer has the grand ambitions as he used to when he was younger. Honerva has weakened him. Her influence has worn away his sharp edges. She basically defanged him. Seeing his decline has been horrific.”</p><p>“Agreed.” Muttered Sendak. “Everything that has been going on since she showed up… Honerva even got pregnant and gave birth to Lotor.”</p><p>“The stupid half breed.” She hissed.</p><p>Sendak gave her a glare. “Oh really?”</p><p>“Half breed vampires taint the rest of our kind. Make us weaker.” Growled Haggar. “If Honerva had left me alone with that little brat… I would have snapped his fucking neck. He’s too messed up to know what an abomination he is. Him and the rest of those half breed degenerates.”</p><p>“Degenerates?” Questioned Sendak. “Sure, many were completely useless, but there are some mutations that make vampires stronger… For example…” He took a small flashlight out of his desk. “You see… Some mutations are messed up and cause too much trouble for us and ruin the masquerade… But some are very advantageous. For example, what is the easiest way to determine that a vampire is a vampire? Besides the need to drink blood.”</p><p>Haggar shrugged. “I’d say sunlight. And that’s only because of UV radiation.”</p><p>“Precisely.” He turned on the light and pointed it at the wall. A faint purple light hit the wall. It was a UV light. “UV light is deadly to us, yet a day walker is immune to it. Day walkers are few and far between because of the extermination efforts, but it can be done. There are probably many day walkers out there that keep their identities secret. Since a day walker is technically born a vampire, they don’t really have a sire. There have been stories of vampires who have had unruly fledglings in the past.”</p><p>Haggar nodded along, but kept a very close eye on the light. “I get your point… Turn that fucking light off… What are you proposing?”</p><p>Sendak shrugged, but did as she asked. “I’m suggesting that we might consider creating day walkers.”</p><p>She scoffed at the idea. “What vampire woman would lower herself to do such a thing?”</p><p>“Who said anything about wasting our women on this experiment?”</p><p>“... Okay, now you have me interested.” </p><p>A sly smirk grew across his face. “As we all know, giving birth to a vampire using the natural method and not embracing them is very… Bloody.”</p><p>“The little shits claw their way out of the womb.” Growled Haggar. “It’s easier to just embrace someone.”</p><p>“Exactly.” Sendak played with the flash light a little more and his grin grew wider. “This would be a step up or a little side project from the human farm idea. I mean, the people we’re going to be feeding from are going to be mentaly broken anyway. We find the best woman from the livestock and see if we can make some day walkers. Once they pop, the offspring are taken away and raised in the way of vampires until they are adults. Then we turn them. The Gangrel clan will become even stronger. They could take out other clans and then we could take over completely.”</p><p>Haggar thought for a moment. “Hmm… I guess, but it is difficult to get started. Especially with how Allura reacted to that little farm you were running. Maybe in a few decades. That infection seems to be working wonders for us at the moment.”</p><p>“Very true.” He took a blood pack out of his personal supply under his desk and passed it to her. “A toast then? To well laid plans?”</p><p>She smirked and raised the bag. “To well laid plans.”</p><p>***</p><p>With his mother out of the house, Lotor decided to quickly snoop around his parents room. Zarkon was always out at night, probably hunting or trying to save face with the other clans. Lotor had a sneaking suspicion that his parents had a hand in something more devious than just running a human farm. </p><p>He just knew something was up. It was a gut feeling. His gut feeling was telling him that it might have to do with what happened to Narti… Poor Narti. She didn’t deserve what was happening to her. They had taken her to the bunker that Lotor usually resides in when the madness takes control. They needed to isolate her and keep her away from everyone and everything for everyone’s safety.</p><p>Ezor was beside herself with worry. Zethrid was devastated. The usually stoic Acxa was very disturbed by this turn of events. They couldn’t run the club anymore due to the potential bad blood infecting more people. They didn’t really know how to test the blood besides drinking it and seeing if they get sick or not. Things were really messed up.</p><p>Lotor found dozens of Haggar’s old books. Nothing unusual. His insane aunt and his mother did share the same body after all. He much preferred his violent schizophrenic outbursts compared to having DID. Though Honerva still preferred the outdated term; split personality.</p><p>He was going to give up looking for any evidence when he saw something sticking out from under her pillow. Lotor quickly picked it up. It was an old leather book. Very tattered and worn. The pages were stained yellow and very musty. It was an ancient book on diseases from medieval times. </p><p>It wasn’t just medieval human diseases. It was vampiric diseases. There was a bit of cross over with human diseases, but it was mostly vampire stuff. It had things about gum rot, and other ailments that could easily be fixed with fresh human blood. There was different blood for different ailments. Sometimes it needed to be baby blood, young adult, virgin, whore, adult, old, male, female… It all depended on what was wrong with someone.</p><p>There were a few more obscure diseases that affected vampires. Things like parasitic worms or viral infections in general. Vampires in more tropical regions were a little more susceptible to fungal infections, simply because of the weather.</p><p>He opened up to a page that had been opened very recently. It was a chapter on an interesting case from vampires that traveled from Spain to Mexico during their very early days. Back when the Aztecs and Incas were still alive and thriving.</p><p>To sum it up, there was something in the blood of the natives that gave the local vampires a more savage. Not uncommon, what humans consume within an hour before being feasted on by a vampire could affect them. He and many other vampires had gotten drunk after draining people that stumbled out of bars. The long and short of the case study was that the Spanish vampires discovered a parasite that lived in the bloodstreams of the natives that only became active when they entered the body of vampires.</p><p>The parasites would hatch, make their way to the brain, and burrow into said brain mostly around the brainstem and would create extreme amounts of adrenaline which would cause aggression and was concluded to be the cause of the local vampires becoming more blood thirsty after a feeding. </p><p>The European vampire in question decided that this was too dangerous as it could expose vampire society, and therefore aided in the genocide of the natives to end the potentialy dangerous parasite.</p><p>There were dozens of sticky notes on these various pages written in Haggar’s handwriting. She had a habit of writing forwards, backwards, and over all over the notes she had previously written. This made all her notes practically illegible. But if Haggar was making notes on a parasite, then something was very, very wrong.</p><p>***</p><p>As it was a lazy night, Curtis excused himself from the bedroom and headed up to the roof of the apartment building for a smoke. Not with a cigarette, but with a pipe. It was one of the few things from Curtis’ life that he didn’t want to let go of.</p><p>He was worried about what was going on in the city. He might have been the youngest vampire in their small clan, but he was no less intune with his abilities. He wanted to leave very, very soon. Curtis could sense things were becoming unstable in the city.</p><p>But Shiro and Keith had been told they needed to help by vampire royalty. It was unsettling to him. Their clan killed other vampires. He was worried that Allura might double cross them and kill them all. Plus Keith wasn’t a full vampire. Keith was a day walker and fiercely protected by Shiro.</p><p>Neither he nor Adam could go against Shiro when he had made up his mind. It was a strange feeling. There were times when he wanted to go against what Shiro wanted when it came to extinguishing vampire nests, but he physically couldn’t. That was the true relation between a sire and their fledgling. </p><p>Luckily for him, Curtis did love Shiro as much as a vampire could love another. So Shiro didn’t impose his will on him or Adam nearly as much as he could. Shiro was possibly one of the kindest people he knew, even if he wasn’t even human.</p><p>Still, Shiro could be kind of dumb. Curtis thought this was one of those times. They should leave the city and move onto the next. The longer they stayed the longer they risked getting sick and getting put down. He wouldn’t be able to end either Keith or Adam if they became infected with this disease… What if Shiro got sick? He couldn’t kill Shiro. Shiro was his sire, his lover, his everything. He didn’t think Adam would be able to either… Would Keith be able to?</p><p>He shuddered at that thought. He didn’t think anyone in their clan would be able to end the other’s life. If Shiro had to he probably would take it upon himself to end their lives. He was the leader of their small clan. He would take responsibility.</p><p>The door to the rook opened up and Adam walked out with a dreamy look on his face. “Hey Curtis.” He purred. “Still out here?”</p><p>“Yeah. Just thinking about stuff.”</p><p>Adam sighed and stood next to him, nudging his arm. “You want to leave the city, don’t you?”</p><p>“Is it that obvious?”</p><p>“Kind of… I want to leave here too.” Adam admitted.</p><p>Curtis was kind of surprised by this. “Yeah?” Adam was usually the first one to agree with Shiro and come to his defence, no matter what it was.</p><p>“Yeah…” Adam sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, clearly showing off the bite marks on his neck and arms. “I’m getting a sinking feeling that something really bad is happening or going to happen. Everything feels off to me… Shiro has tried to be reassuring, but you know how he can be. He really needs us to be a voice of reason for him… I’m surprised he survived so long without us.”</p><p>Curtis nodded in agreement. “Yep… Adam, I’m scared. I don’t want to die again… Dying the first time was scary…”</p><p>“To be fair, your death was kind of bloody.” Said Adam calmly. He looked over at Curtis and at his pipe for a moment.</p><p>Curtis offered it to him. “We just have to be extra careful these days. Make sure that Shiro doesn’t do anything stupid. Same with Keith.”</p><p>“Agreed.” Adam took his pipe and took a quick puff. “... You know, smoking is kind of hard when you don’t technically need to breathe… Though we can technically drown?”</p><p>“I think it has something to do with water in our cells or something? I don’t know. I don’t want to drown. Sounds painful.”</p><p>“It is painful. Being a sailor back in the day sucked.” Muttered Adam.</p><p>***</p><p>Coran happily hummed to himself as he stood in the elevator heading back to the penthouse. He had been running a few errands for Allura and had happened to run into Keith. The young vampire seemed kind of nervous and just passed a piece of paper to Coran to give to Allura. He stated that it was some information from a Gangrel that Allura needed to know.</p><p>Naturally Coran didn’t look at it, and went to give it to her. Allura was watching TV and catching up on what was happening in the human world. He had to admire her ability to keep track of what was happening with them and in their private world.</p><p>“I have a note for you Allura.” He said as he placed several shoe boxes on the coffee table in front of her. “Keith said it was some information from some Gangrel.”</p><p>Allura looked displeased to hear that but held her hand out anyway. “Alright. Hand it over. I’ll see if this is worth anything.”</p><p>Coran nodded and happily handed it to her. “There you go. Also, those pumps you wanted are running a little late. The warehouse where they were being shipped from is currently no longer there. Hurricane and all that.”</p><p>“That is fair…” She opened the note and had a look at it. “Oh, it’s in cuneiform. I haven’t seen this in centuries. Who writes in this anymore anyway?”</p><p>Coran shrugged. “Perhaps a vampire that wanted to make sure that only you could read it?”</p><p>“Perhaps.” Allura hummed a little and took a few minutes to decipher what was written there. Coran could see the moment she figured it out because her eyebrows shot up in shock and she bolted upright. “Who gave Keith this note?! What Gangrel gave him this note?!”</p><p>The ghoul was shocked by her outburst. “I um, I’m not sure. Why? What does the note say?”</p><p>“Vector-borne! The damn disease is vector-borne!” She snapped. “Who the fuck figured out it was a vector-borne disease?! I want the Nosferatu on the phone right now!”</p><p>“W-what? Why?” Coran was worried at how manic Allura was becoming. Her fangs were starting to show as she was yelling.</p><p>“If it is a damn parasite we need proof! I want an infected vampire ready for dissection. Now!”</p>
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<a name="section0020"><h2>20. Museum</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Things happen and there are so many feeling. Plus Allura gets pissed. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A vampire is classified as an undead monster. However, that isn’t entirely true. They straddle the line between life and death. They teeter on a knife’s edge where one thing could inevitably topple them into what was known as the second death or the final death. When they eventually die for good all the flesh and soft tissue inside a vampire spontaneously combusts leaving behind a few skeleton fragments.</p><p>Which was very difficult when it came to dissecting a vampire when they were diseased. The only way to conduct a dissection on a vampire would be if they stayed alive. Which was very, very tricky. So many things needed to be in perfect balance to keep the flesh fresh and preserve for observation.</p><p>Thankfully Allura had Ryner and Pidge to help keep the specimen alive while she performed the operation. They had gone down to the Nosferatu territory and talked to Dick about using one of the more gone infected to find out if it really was a parasite. Dick was a little reluctant at first, but it didn’t take much to twist his arm.</p><p>So there Allura was, removing the skull cap of a deranged vampire that was getting held down by several Nosferatu with Pidge and Ryner standing over them and keeping them alive. The vampire in question was thrashing and hissing. They had to have their head tied down so they wouldn’t disrupt her work.</p><p>Allura very carefully reached inside the skull and wrapped their gloved fingers around their slightly necrotic organ. “Okay, on three, I am pulling it out. One, two, three!” Allura ripped out the brain, taking out a fair chunk of the brainstem. Ryner and Pidge used blood magic to keep them alive, though they might as well have been a zombie now.</p><p>They put the brain on a table and grabbed a scalpel. They sliced into the brain, splitting the lobes and dozens of string-like worms spilled out. Allura pulled one out with a pair of tweezers and made a disgusted face.</p><p>“What the fuck is that?” Asked one of the Nosferatu.</p><p>Allura let out a long breath. “A tropical blood parasite that consumes the freshly dead brains of vampires. This renders them monsters that will destroy the masquerade. They stay dormant in human blood and are undetectable. It’s like a biological weapon against vampires.” She looked over at Ryner and Pidge. “We are done with them. Let them die.”</p><p>They stood away from the vampire’s body and watched as it burst into flames. Ryner walked over to Allura and also looked at the worm. She got a jar and started to pull the worms out and put them in the jar of formaldehyde.  </p><p>Dick frowned as he looked between the ash remains of the dead Nosferatu and the worms. “So this is the thing that’s messing us up?”</p><p>“It looks that way.” Said Allura. “My mother would have known more about these things. She was very interested in finding cures for the more vicious diseases to prevent vampires from breaking the masquerade… Parasites are not common. Viral and bacterial pathogens are usually the most common things that would affect us.”</p><p>“So is there any cure for the worms?” Asked Dick.</p><p>Ryner frowned as she looked at the worms in the jar. “At the moment no. Vampires tend to cull their sick. But my clan will use all our resources to find a cure. I trust you will be able to help us gather more samples if we need it?”</p><p>Dick glanced over at the cells filled with vampires in various stages of savaging. “Yes… How will we test our blood then? We need to make sure it doesn’t have eggs in them. If they do…”</p><p>Pidge quickly piped up. “If it’s a parasite we should have a few ways to test blood. We just need to figure out what one will react best with it. We just have to be very vigilant and keep doing what we are doing. We can’t let the masquerade fall.”</p><p>“Well said Pidge.” Said Allura. She removed her gloves and looked over at the brain. “You can keep that too Ryner.” She left the Nosferatu’s territory and headed back to the surface. Allura was going to find Keith and force the day walker to take him to whoever gave him that note. She had to know who they were and how they knew this was a parasite.</p><p>She swiftly made her way to where Shiro’s current address was. With a swift knock on the door it was answered within seconds. It was neither Adam nor Shiro, but a man with very dark skin. He seemed confused. </p><p>“Can I help you?”</p><p>“Yes. I am Princess Allura and I demand to speak with Keith this instant.”</p><p>They looked over confused for a moment. “Oh um I’m sorry, but I don’t know where Keith is, but he isn’t here…”</p><p>“What? Then where is Shiro?”</p><p>“I can grab him um… Come in I guess?” They let Allura in and vanished up the hallway. After a few moments a shirtless Shiro appeared. He was covered in bite marks and bruises. He seemed a little embarrassed, but smiled at her anyway.</p><p>“Hi Allura. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?”</p><p>“I need to speak to Keith. Now.” She said.</p><p>Shiro was a little surprised. “Oh um, he’s out at the moment. I can call him.”</p><p>“His phone’s over there.” The darker skinned vampire pointed to a phone in a charger on the table.</p><p>“... Right.” Shiro sighed a bit and ran his fingers through his hair. “Okay, well, I know he said he was going to see Lance about something. Maybe you should call Lance?”</p><p>Allura’s eye twitched a little as she took out her phone and called Lance. “Bloody vampires…”</p><p>***</p><p>Lance had put his phone on silent after texting Keith, asking him to come over again. Despite how reluctant Keith seemed to be, he still showed up. They ended up on the roof of the Toreador’s building to just hang out. He did like hanging out with Keith. There were very few people he actually liked talking to.</p><p>Over his time he had talked to all kinds of humans and vampires. He liked talking to the human, but they were only there for a moment before they were gone. Vampires were always around, but most of them lacked the motivation or mind of innovation and change. This was probably one of the reasons he liked Keith. He was a day walker. He didn’t give into the usual vices that vampires did. It was refreshing.</p><p>Lance hummed happily to himself as he balanced along the edge of the building. “So what does tasting things feel like? Like, I know what it does and general tastes, like salty and sweet, this is America after all. The diabetes here is freaking crazy.”</p><p>Keith shrugged. “It is what it is. What did you used to eat?”</p><p>“Hmm, lots of things.” Said Lance. “I think I miss my mama’s home cooking the most… I don’t even remember what rice tastes like.”</p><p>“It doesn’t really taste like anything unless you add sauce or spices.”</p><p>“... I miss spices.”</p><p>Keith shrugged. “It is what it is. Human food is… It’s overrated…”</p><p>“Yeah…” Lance stepped back onto the roof and smiled at him. “Hey, wanna go to the museum with me? I heard they have an interesting exhibit and I want to see it before it moves cities.”</p><p>“... Really?” Keith shook his head. “The masquerade could fall at any second and you want to see stuff you probably used to play with as a kid.”</p><p>“And you don’t?” Asked Lance. He smiled at him and pulled him up to the side of the building. “Come on. My treat.”</p><p>Keith just rolled his eyes and let Lance pull him along as he wished. The two ended up at the museum. It should have been closed, but in reality most of the night security were ghouls that would let vampires in to see the exhibits at night. They just had to let them in through the backdoor.</p><p>Lance was ecstatic. There was one very specific exhibit he wanted to see. He’d wanted to see it for a while, but the thing with the savaging happened and he got roped into fighting it. It was kind of annoying, but it was what it was.</p><p>He happily pulled Keith through the exhibits until they got to the new exhibit on display. Lance and Keith took pause when they saw the warning sign right at the entrance to the exhibit; <strong>WARNING; exhibits contain preserved bodies and images that younger attendees might find disturbing. 13+ only. No flash photography.</strong></p><p>“What the hell exhibit are we seeing?” Asked Keith.</p><p>“The best kind.” Said Lance. He happily pulled Keith into the exhibit and grinned when he was greeted by a vintage poster of a familiar set of siamese twins. Anna and Joanna. He felt a wave of nostalgia. He had repainted that specific poster dozens of times. If he looked carefully he could still see his thumbprint on the ribbon in Joanna’s hair. “A freak exhibit.”</p><p>Lance happily entered the exhibit and looked around at some of the disfigured skeletons and vintage clothes from various freak show acts. It brought a sense of nostalgia as he walked among them. He looked over at Keith and saw him looking at the skeleton of a baby whose twin was born with one eye.</p><p>“This place is pretty amazing huh?”</p><p>Keith just shrugged. “Humans are… They are such a weird species… Are you looking for anything specific?”</p><p>Lance shrugged and kept walking. “Eh, I like to come to these places. Have a trip down memory lane. Sometimes I even find out about what happened to my fellow freaks after I was… Oh here!” He happily showed Keith a photo of Lenny the dwarf and his wife Donna. They were surrounded by children. “They had kids! I knew they would make it. They were so sweet together…”</p><p>“They look happy.”</p><p>“Yeah, this would have been years after I died…” </p><p>He kept looking around and found some colourized photos of different performers. He saw people with tumors, extra limbs, and then himself. He took pause as he looked at the colourised photo of himself standing with his fellow performers. The person who colourised it didn’t get the colours right on his uniform and his skin was lighter than it should have been, but it was him. He looked so happy standing with his performing family.</p><p>“Lance?”</p><p>“Hmm?”</p><p>“Are you okay?”</p><p>Lance nodded. “Yeah, just going down memory lane… Have you ever gone to a museum and seen stuff that you used to know?”</p><p>Keith shrugged. “Kind of. I have seen some stuff, but most things that I would have considered part of my past are either too degraded to be recognizable, or still buried in North Korea.”</p><p>“Ah, fair enough.” Lance continued to look at the colourised photos and wondered what life could have been.</p><p>***</p><p>As Keith watched Lance he couldn’t help but feel that he almost looked human. Lance had this strange, almost sorrowful look on his face. It was kind of beautiful. The raw emotion of sorrow was one of the few emotions that vampires shared with humans.</p><p>Shiro had once told him that despite a vampire’s apathetic attitude, they were still extremely emotional beings. When they turned most vampires would fall into a deep depression. Such deep emotion was considered beautiful to vampires. Many vampires would often lament about how beautiful their fledglings would look within the first few years of being embraced. It was a beautiful morbid sight that vampires relished in. It was like watching a rose slowly wilt away and die in a vase.</p><p>Keith looked away and sighed. Lance was technically still a young vampire. He was so innocent in many ways. It made him feel a little bad about being so bitter towards the other vampire. Lance was still young. Keith himself felt like he had long since given up on his humanity, despite being half human still.</p><p>“So…”</p><p>“Yeah?”</p><p>“What do you think your life would have been like? If you never got bitten?”</p><p>Lance thought for a moment. “I guess I would keep performing until my body gave out. Then I would have gone home to Cuba to live with my family. Then I would eventually get married to a good Catholic girl, have children, then die. You?”</p><p>Keith shrugged. “Soybean farmer. Work the land until I die. Maybe get married? My farming was pretty successful so I probably was attracting some attention from some families, despite being an orphan and all. I probably would have had an arranged marriage with a girl from another farming family, have some kids with her and die in my early forties.”</p><p>“Sounds like a plan. So you’ve probably had a lot of ladies in your life huh?” Asked Lance. “What decade has the best women in your opinion?”</p><p>Keith shrugged again. “Wouldn’t know. I’m gay.”</p><p>“But you said you would marry a woman?”</p><p>“It wouldn’t have been a romantic set up.” Said Keith. “It would have been a financial arrangement. At some point I would have wanted someone to take care of my farm after all the work I put into it. I would have gotten married to a nice girl, take care of her so she could live comfortably for the rest of her life, and she would have my children so someone could carry on the family name and inherit my farm and whatever wealth her family might decide to leave to them.”</p><p>“... Interesting way to view love.”</p><p>Keith rolled his eyes. “Come on Lance, even you know that the concept of marrying just out of love is a relatively new concept. There is a reason things like dowries and arranged marriages used to be the normal thing to do in most of the world. I’m sure your parents did the same to your sisters, if you had sisters.”</p><p>Lance frowned but relented. “Yeah, you’re right. I had two sisters by the way. An older sister called Veronica. She was very, very smart. She wrote a lot of poetry, but as a woman she couldn’t publish much stuff. She published a lot of her work under one of my older brother’s name… I don’t know if there is a copy of any of her work anywhere now… I don’t know what happened to my twin sister Rachel. She was a fun loving kind of woman. I don’t know… I really want to know what my family tree looks like now.”</p><p>“You could always send some spit to a DNA place?” He suggested.</p><p>Lance chuckled a little. “Yeah, but it would have to be a forensic place. Like, when DNA technology first came in Allura did extensive testing to make sure we couldn’t be identified through our DNA. Apparently the older we are the more degraded and old it appears. A DNA test wouldn’t really work…”</p><p>“Oh… Yeah, that kind of sucks.”</p><p>“Yeah… Do you think you have any human relatives out there?” He asked. “Like, maybe you have some relatives in North Korea or South Korea? Maybe they spread through Asia?”</p><p>“I doubt it.” He said calmly. “Even if I do have family they would be my niece and nephew or cousins a thousand times removed. I think my bloodline ended with me.”</p><p>Lance nodded a little. “Yeah, I guess it might have… I’m sorry. Here I am babbling about my dead friends and family while you never had a family.”</p><p>“It’s okay. I don’t mind. It’s nice to see you passionate about something you cared about when you were alive.”</p><p>“Yeah.” Lance looked around a little before taking out his phone. “Imma take a photo of this.” He was about to take a photo of him and his performing family in colour when all the colour drained from his face. Quite a feat for an undead creature. “Oh no…”</p><p>“What?”</p><p>“Allura’s been blowing up my phone… I am so dead…”</p>
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<a name="section0021"><h2>21. Choke me vampy</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Lance and Keith get up to more shenanigan's... And Allura gets right to work. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When the pair got to Allura’s penthouse the vampire queen strangled Lance. Hands around the neck and squeezing so tightly she was going white knuckled from it. Keith just stood back and watched in amusement. Getting throttled like that wouldn’t really kill a vampire. If they got enough blood after then they would be fine, but If Allura managed to pop his head off then Lance could very well be dead. His face was turning an impressive shade of blue.</p><p>Coran cleared his throat. “Allura, I know you are a touch annoyed right now, but there are more pressing matters to deal with perhaps?”</p><p>Allura grinded her teeth, but let him go. Lance fell to the floor like a sack of shit. “You are right Coran…” She muttered. Her eyes instantly fell on Keith. “You! What was the name of the Gangrel that gave you that note?”</p><p>“Some guy called Kolivan.” Said Keith quickly. “He seemed really old…”</p><p>“... Kolivan is back in Arus?!” Exclaimed Allura. “I thought he was still in Europe? Argh, never mind!” She looked over at Coran. “Are his usual hang out spots still viable?”</p><p>“I do believe so.” Coran immediately turned and went to get Allura’s coat. “You boys can leave when you feel like it. We have to be off now. The guest room is available. Please drag yourself there. Don’t pass out on the floor.”</p><p>When the two of them were gone, Keith looked down at Lance and nudged him with his foot. “You okay?”</p><p>“My neck hurts…” Muttered Lance.</p><p>“Kind of your fault for not answering her call.”</p><p>“I know.” Lance slowly got up and rubbed his throat. “Man, she was pissed…”</p><p>“You need some blood or something?”</p><p>“Yeah…” Lance walked over to Allura’s fridge and helped himself to a blood pack. “Well, tonight has been long. Want to come with me to the guest room?”</p><p>Keith shrugged and followed Lance into the room. It was quite large and furnished with all kinds of expensive looking furniture. Keith wasn’t surprised by the things in Allura’s home anymore. She wouldn’t be surprised if there was actually a dungeon under this building.</p><p>Lance flopped onto the bed and sighed happily. “Comfy.”</p><p>The other vampire sat next to him and nodded in agreement. “Yeah… We have to share a bed aren’t we?”</p><p>“Eah, if you want.”</p><p>“I don’t want to sleep on the floor…”</p><p>“Then you are stuck with me.” Lance sat up and tilted his head back as he dangled his blood pack over his mouth and bit into the bag, happily drinking up that blood. Keith watched Lance’s throat as he swallowed and the mild discolouration vanished. There was something kind of erotic about watching someone swallow.</p><p>“You love watching me drink huh?” Purred Lance.</p><p>“What? No. Shut up.” Grumbled Keith.</p><p>Lance just smirked and ran his finger down his neck and across his jugular. “I guess you know how invigorating human blood is, or maybe you don’t? You are half vampire after all.”</p><p>Keith rolled his eyes. “I know how blood invigorates the body Lance. I’m not stupid.”</p><p>“I guess… Though it must have been a while since you’ve fed huh? When was the last time you’ve had some blood? A day? Two days?”</p><p>“Almost a week.”</p><p>Lance looked horrified. “Excuse me? What?”</p><p>Keith shrugged. “I’m not a full vampire, remember? I can go longer without food than you normal vampires can.”</p><p>“Still, you need some blood.” He passed Keith the almost empty blood pack. “Here. Take it.”</p><p>Keith shrugged and quickly sucked out as much blood from the pack as he could. He hummed happily and threw the plastic bag into the waste bin by the bed. “There. You happy now?”</p><p>“Hmm, a little.”</p><p>Lance leaned in closer to him and gently sniffed at his neck. Taking in his scent. Keith didn’t mind. He tried not to feed in front of others because he knew his scent changed. In large groups with lots of blood flowing he could mask it, but at times he drank in front of vampires one on one he wouldn’t be able to mask it. He smelled more human. He could even pass as human scented to other vampires if he drank enough fresh blood. A tactic they had used many times in the past.</p><p>He wasn’t surprised that Lance was curious about his scent. He smelled like a human. Having a human so close to him was definitely enticing. Even if he wasn’t a real human. Keith didn’t mind. The other vampires in his clan had similar reactions when they were around him when he first drank blood.</p><p>What he didn’t expect though, was Lance suddenly licking his neck. “HEY!” Keith pushed him away and glared at him. “What the fuck?”</p><p>Lance shrugged. “You taste like a human when you drink blood. Smell like them too. Why haven’t I noticed this before?”</p><p>“Because you’re a fucking creep?” He hissed.</p><p>“I probably would have noticed something different about you if I was a creep. Anyway, you taste pretty good…” Lance smirked a little. “So, have you ever had sex after just drinking blood? It’s invigorating. Kind of like a human taking viagra, you know?”</p><p>Keith rolled his eyes and pushed Lance away. “Piss off. I don’t fuck after I’ve eaten.”</p><p>“Aw, so you fuck before?”</p><p>“Do you want me to strangle you too?”</p><p>“Only if you call me a good boy and spank me too.”</p><p>“... I fucking hate you.”</p><p>Lance sighed dramatically and flopped back onto the bed, running his hands over his neck and torso. Keith assumed he might have been trying to be sensual, but it came off as kind of weird. Lance was weird. It made Keith want to slap him.</p><p>The younger vampire just smirked at him. “See something you like?”</p><p>“Not really.”</p><p>Lance pouted and threw his hands to the side. “Oh come on. I’m trying to put the moves on you.”</p><p>“Your moves are shit.”</p><p>“Rude!”</p><p>“Do you just want to fuck or something?”</p><p>“Well, it would be nice…” Lance looked up at Keith with puppy dog eyes. “Don’t you want to do it? How long has it been since you last had sex?”</p><p>“I don’t fuck sober.” Muttered Keith. “I still think sex should be something done between lovers.”</p><p>Lance rolled his eyes. “How human of you.”</p><p>Keith rolled his eyes and turned away from him. “Shut up. Not all of us can completely throw away our morals like that… Sex is good but…”</p><p>“It only feels good when you do it with someone you love, but because of your very existence it’s practically impossible?” Asked Lance. “If you fall in love with a human you only have a few years with them before you have to tell them what you are or run away. If you turn them then you run the risk that they lose those emotions and become like every other vampire that’s void of love? Then again you could try falling in love with a vampire, but we’re all selfish creatures that never give anyone our love. You would never be able to fall in love with a vampire.”</p><p>Keith frowned a little and continued to look away from Lance. That was all true. Humans would die too quickly and Keith would never think about turning a human. He thought a little bit about Shiro, Adam, and Curtis. They were probably the closest thing to a loving vampire relationship he could think of. Even if it was mostly Lust and sexual chemistry and not actual love. They would still bicker and snap at each other. They would probably kill each other if it benefited them, but Shiro was technically their sire. Adam and Curtis were still compelled to follow Shiro’s whims.</p><p>He suddenly felt two arms wrap around his body and Lance’s tongue on his neck again. It made Keith shudder. It had been a few decades since he had sex with anyone. The only time he didn’t feel guilty about fucking someone was when he was drunk. Alcohol always made things easier.</p><p>“Come on Keith…” Said Lance quietly. “You want to be a full vampire right? Might as well learn to live life as a vampire. You do know how to fuck a man, right?”</p><p>Keith sighed in annoyance. He was frustrated by all of this. Not just Lance being a very horny vampire, but the whole finding this disease and living in Arus in general. He wanted to get moving and spread his wings already. Wandering was what vampires were meant to do after all.</p><p>He turned and shoved Lance onto the bed. “You want to fuck huh? Fine. I’ll fuck you hard.”</p><p>“Hmm sounds perfect.” Purred Lance. “Fuck me up Keith.”</p><p>“Shut up.”</p><p>***</p><p>Allura and Coran quickly made their way to the dive bar that Kolivan was known to frequent. The tension in the air was thick when she stepped in. The clientele were all Gangrel vampires and knew what Allura’s stand on their clan was.</p><p>“I’m looking for Kolivan.” She said calmly, but sternly.</p><p>The barman pointed to some stairs near the back of the bar. “He’s up there.”</p><p>Allura nodded and marched up the stairs. She opened a door with <strong>OWNER</strong> written in bold on the glass. Sitting at a desk was Kolivan. The old vampire nodded and gestured for Allura to take a seat, which she did.</p><p>“Evening your highness.” He said calmly. “I take it you got my message.”</p><p>“I did. How did you know about this parasite?”</p><p>He shrugged. “When I was a human I lived as an Aztec warrior. The blood sacrifices that we partook in was not uncommon. We once went to take out a warrior clan that was encroaching on our territory. This was long before it became the empire that the Spanish leveled. The clan was a group of vampires infected with a parasite that we called the rage worm. At least that’s what it translated to. Long story short a group of uninfected vampires also were exterminating the clan and several warriors died in the crossfire and some got turned. I was one of the few who got turned.”</p><p>“And we need to know your history because?” Asked Allura.</p><p>“Because the symptoms of this parasite if the rage worm but accelerated.” He said calmly. “Someone is cultivating and spreading these worms. Not only that they have taken this parasite and weaponized it.”</p><p>Allura nodded slowly. She needed to figure out which vampires had access to these parasites and facilities to evolve them into something more aggressive. There were a few vampires that came to mind. First of all there was the Tremere. They were always thirsting for knowledge and she knew that they would do some ethically immoral things in the name of science. The Toreador’s were also on her list because they might have been vapid, but they actually made a lot of money in the cosmetics industry. Most anti aging creams and balms came from them. Then of course there was Zarkon. He had always been filthy rich and had access to many different facilities. Hell, he had the means to fund Sendak’s little human farm.</p><p>“I see…” She muttered. “Now, what do you get out of this?” </p><p>Kolivan chuckled a little. “Well, first and foremost I believe in the masquerade. Secondly, Zarkon’s influence over this many Gangrel is very troublesome. He was never a very stable leader. He was the kind of man that happily conquered his surrounding tribes by any means necessary when he was alive. I feel that Zarkon is going to ruin the masquerade and we can’t have that.”</p><p>“Agreed.” Allura thought for a moment. “Perhaps we can come to an agreement?”</p><p>“Hmm?”</p><p>“When I am forced to cull the Gangrel I won’t touch you and your group of Gangrel followers.” She said with a wave of her hand. “You and your kindred seem to understand the importance of keeping your heads down, and you are willing to hand over information.”</p><p>“We have informants as close to Zarkon’s inner circle as we can get while still going under the radar.” Informed Kolivan. “They confirmed my suspicions about the parasite. I just don’t know how they are getting it into humans in the first place.”</p><p>“As long as we destroy their distribution center then it doesn’t matter how they were doing this.” Said Allura coldly. “I trust that you will not betray me in this endeavour, Kolivan?” </p><p>The older man shook his head. “Me and my kindred are loyal only to the Venture clan, and therefore, you.”</p><p>Allura was satisfied with that answer. It was the best that she could get from a vampire. “Okay. Now tell me, do you know how to detect the parasites in human blood?”</p>
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<a name="section0022"><h2>22. Theorizing</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I haven't forgotten about this one! Just got distracted by other fics! Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The next evening Lance woke up with a grin and happily looked over at Keith. He was still asleep and looked just as pretty as a fresh corpse. Marble white skin, but rosy red lips stained with blood. Tips of those pearly white fangs were poking out and catching the edge of his lips. It was so pretty.</p><p>That wasn’t even mentioning the thing that Lance loved the most. Those perfect purple and red puncture marks and scratches all over Keith’s neck and body. Due to vampires pretty much having little to no circulation, depending on the age of the vampire or the clan. Either way, Keith looked torn up and drained of all blood. It might have been grotesque, but he loved the look of fresh wounds on a cadaver. </p><p>Looking down at himself he was covered with his own bite marks and scratches. Keith gave just as good as he took. It was beautiful. Keith was perfect. Lance wouldn’t mind having sex with Keith a few more times after this. Keith’s blood still had that hint in it that indicated that he should still be alive, but he wasn’t. It was interesting and gave it a unique flavour.</p><p>He leaned in close to lick some of the coagulated chunks around some of the bite marks, when Keith’s eyes snapped open and he pushed Lance’s head away. “The fuck are you doing?”</p><p>“Hoping for another round?”</p><p>“Yeah, not going to happen.” Grumbled Keith as he sat up. He ran his fingers over his scratches and puncture marks. He didn’t look happy. “Can I get a blood pack?”</p><p>“Sure. I need one too.” Lance walked out of the room, fully naked and came back with two blood packs. He tossed one to Keith, who quickly drained it. As the blood entered his body Lance happily watched as those scratches and bite marks slowly closed up, scarred, and completely healed over. Lance finished his own pack before happily sitting next to Keith and hugging him.</p><p>Keith flailed slightly and glared at him. “What do you want Lance?”</p><p>“What? I think you’re sexy.” Said Lance. “You have an amazing body and you give as good as you take. It drives me wild. Doesn’t it drive you wild? You’re amazing. We should fuck a lot more. I think our bodies are compatible.”</p><p>Keith snarled at him and shoved him away by his forehead. “Fuck off. This was a one time thing to shut you up.”</p><p>“Aw, you’re so mean to me.” Whined Lance. He ran his fingers through Keith’s hair and smiled happily at him. “Let’s shower together. It’ll be fun. I’ll wash your back and you wash mine…”</p><p>Keith pushed him away harder. “Fuck off.”</p><p>“I would rather just fuck…”</p><p>With that comment Keith kicked Lance out of the bed and marched off to have a shower. Lance couldn’t even follow him because Keith locked the door behind him. Which made Lance whine loudly. He quite liked Keith. Not just his body. He was fun to be around. He valued Keith’s companionship, at least for the time being.</p><p>Lance lazily threw on a blue silk robe just as Allura and Coran returned. He grinned as he greeted them. “Evening Allura. You were gone all day.”</p><p>She shrugged her coat off and handed it to Coran. “We had a very interesting conversation with Kolivan that took most of the night. Then we had to talk to Ryner about what we found out… Did you have sex in my guest room?”</p><p>“You never said I couldn’t.”</p><p>“Fair… So was it Keith?”</p><p>“Yes. He’s one of the best lays I’ve had in a few decades.”</p><p>Allura let out a fake gasp of shock. “Even better than me?”</p><p>“Best male fuck I’ve had. Better?”</p><p>“Acceptable.”</p><p>“Anyway, he’s in the bathroom.”</p><p>“Good.” Allura sat on her couch and snapped her fingers. Coran was handing her a glass of blood in a matter of seconds. “I need to speak with you both about what has been discovered about this disease.” Lance nodded and happily took a next to her. He happily sighed as she ran her nails oer his scalp. It felt good. </p><p>Eventually Keith made an appearance and sat on the couch across from the other two vampires. From there Allura informed them of her discoveries about the parasite and how it was a possibly mutated version of a parasite known as a rage worm.</p><p>“Have you or Shiro ever encountered a parasite like this before?” Allura asked Keith.</p><p>Keith thought about this for a moment. “Kind of, but not this aggressive… When we were in Thailand. The local undead called it H̄nxn p̄hxmh̄æ̂ng. Emaciation worm. It was a worm that infected the undead and those close to dying. It did make the undead more aggressive, but as long as they weren’t bothered they were generally quiet. There are a lot more parasites in tropical and warmer areas. I haven’t heard anything about a rage worm before. Shiro would probably know more.”</p><p>“Yes, possibly…” Muttered Allura. She sighed and shook her head. “I called Shiro and told him to meet up with Ryner and Pidge at the library to examine the worms. I figured that Shiro might have some old world knowledge that might help.”</p><p>“So, we could all potentially be infected?” Asked Lance.</p><p>Allura nodded. “Yes… We are going to have to go back to safer means… Even if they are disgusting. Red meat is pretty vial.”</p><p>“Well technically pig is white meat.” Chimed in Coran. “Don’t worry Allura, I’ll get the blender and mash and strain it all. I’ll add a bit of alcohol too so it’s more palatable.”</p><p>Allura pulled a disgusted face but eventually relented. “Thank you Coran… I’m trying to narrow down which clans would be able to have the money and facilities to be able to create such abominations.”</p><p>***</p><p>The Tremere clan was working tirelessly in the secret catacombs of the library to uncover the secrets of the parasite. Ryner and pinned down several of them and had Pidge and Matt dissect them. Other members of the clan were running around with old books trying to find out anything they could.</p><p>Shiro was there too and was mostly talking with Matt and Ryner. They left Pidge to their own devices. Alone she sat in her corner and very carefully sliced down one of the worms. It had all the usual stuff a parasitic worm would have. The only thing that she thought was really interesting was the mouth of the worm. It had some strange looking needle-like mouth. Other noticeable features included the fact they were hermaphrodites and had multiple stomachs. </p><p>Pidge wondered if she could use this parasite as a possible source of revenge on the vampire that killed her parents. Her mind was constantly on revenge. She didn’t typically do anything that didn’t aid in her agenda to find and kill them. This seemed extremely painful. If she could force this kind of transformation on them. Anything and everything she could to make them suffer.</p><p>With some sweaters she very slowly pulled out a thick string that under a microscope was no doubt full of eggs. She would need a fair few of them to experiment on to see if she could get them to survive in things like food, water, and other things.</p><p>“Have we figured out how these things get into humans?” She asked.</p><p>“We were just talking about that.” Said Matt. He walked over to her with a notepad in his hands. “Okay, so in general parasites are passed on by eating them. We think that whatever food the humans are eating is being laced with parasites. We aren’t sure where it is happening since it isn’t very widespread…”</p><p>Pidge shrugged and took his notepad, scribbling a few things down. “Okay, so it’s mostly in the Nosferatu areas, right? That and the Brujah. We just need to figure out what kind of food the humans are eating in these areas and then narrow it down from there.”</p><p>“I guess, but what do humans even eat these days?” Asked Matt. “They don’t eat normal food like fruits, vegetables, and meat anymore. They eat highly processed crap that not even a zombie would have a go at. What the fuck is all this fast food stuff? It’s all just deep fried fat with deep fried fat!”</p><p>“True. I have noticed that blood is a lot more richer and thicker than usual over the last century.” Muttered Pidge.</p><p>“Meat would be most likely.” Said Shiro. “Lots of parasites thrive in undercooked meat, or minced meat. Either one would be a good vector for delivering it to humans…”</p><p>Ryner nodded in agreement. “Yes it would… The areas that border the Nosferatu and Brujah territories are mostly slum areas or have large homeless populations… Perhaps a homeless shelter?”</p><p>Shiro frowned and crossed his arms. “That would make sense. Whoever is behind this might me lacing cheap meat with parasites and infecting those areas through things like homeless shelters and needle swapping.”</p><p>“Poor places and the homeless are usually the first to suffer when it comes to tragedy huh?” Asked Matt. “... Then again we do kind of take a quick sip from them when we need a quick fix…”</p><p>“That would also explain some of the other infections in the other clans.” Said Ryner. “Volunteers from the nicer parts of the city would work in these places and eat the food they prepared. These generous souls would probably also be the kind to give blood, infecting what we used to consider a clean blood supply. From there thousands of humans could be infected with those eggs just waiting for one of us to bite them.”</p><p>Pidge pushed away the parasite on the tray. “So our working theory is that the place supplying the homeless shelters with cheap meat is either getting laced with parasites either at the shelters or at the abattoir?”</p><p>“That sounds about right.” Said Matt. “But even if that is the case, there is still one question we haven’t figured out yet. Why? Why would any vampire go through the trouble of creating and distributing a parasite to kill vampires and essentially make humans immune from vampirism?” </p><p>“That is a very good question.” Said Ryner. She closed her eyes and thought for a moment. “Logically, someone wants to disrupt the power balance in the city and force Allura’s hand. But that could be done without causing the suffering of our kindred and threatening the masquerade… Pidge, go and contact Hunk and figure out where the local abattoirs are. Matt, cross reference the owners and distributors with all known vampire alliances and associations.”</p><p>Pidge poked her brother. “Check with Lance too. He knows everything. If there’s anyone we don’t know he will know.”</p><p>“Good plan.” Said Matt. “I’m on it.” The siblings quickly went to work making calls and searching the internet for information. </p><p>“Um… What about me?” Asked Shiro.</p><p>“I wish to pick your brain a little.” Said Ryner in a calm manner.</p><p>“I hope you don’t mean literally.”</p><p>“Of course not. I wish to talk to you about remedies and cures you might remember from ancient times.” She said. “We have a lot of information, but I believe you were originally from Japan?”</p><p>Shiro nodded. “Yeah, my clan, before we became the undead we were known for being samurai and or shinobi. Then again it was mostly the women who trained to be shinobi in my clan… But I digress, I have been around for a long time.”</p><p>“Then you would probably know about all kinds of things that haven’t been recorded.” She linked her arm with his and grinned. “Come, you must tell me more of your secret knowledge.” Despite her smile, the madness in her eyes made Shiro worry… A lot. Vampires with a thirst for knowledge were scary.</p>
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<a name="section0023"><h2>23. Abattoir</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>The team follow up on leads and get information. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Through Matt and Hunk’s efforts, they cross referenced the abattoirs and found two that were associated with vampires. Shiro and Keith went to one while Lance and Hunk went to the other. Pidge was still working with Ryner to find a cure or some way to detect those parasites.</p><p>So there Lance and Hunk were. Standing outside the Sunny Dahmer abattoir. Lance sighed a little as he looked up at the fence. “You know, I find it funny how humans bitch and whine about these places being disgusting and inhumane. They should have seen what these places looked like when we were alive. I’m pretty sure there was pig shit on the floor of most places.”</p><p>“Yeah, but you have to admit vegans do have a nice flavour.” Said Hunk.</p><p>“Well yeah, if you like drinking blood that has hints of wheatgrass to them.” Grumbled Lance. “Oh, what about the morons that detox with juice?”</p><p>Hunk shuddered. “You’d think by now humans would understand that the liver and kidneys are filter organs and don’t need help.”</p><p>“Unless they have a genetic disease or got fucked up by a virus.”</p><p>“I’m speaking in general terms here Lance. Well, let’s go.” With little effort Hunk took a running jump at the wall, easily clearing the razor wire and landing on the other side. Lance quickly joined him. </p><p>While vampires did prefer human blood, animal blood was an alright substitute. Though the quality was poor and they would need to feed more frequently if they did so. Animal blood just wasn’t as good as humans. </p><p>“So where do we go?” Asked Lance.</p><p>“Safe bet would be to check all the lockers first. Then we head to the manager’s office and check there.” Said Hunk. “Hopefully we won’t find anything…”</p><p>“So what are we looking for anyway?” Asked Lance as he followed behind Hunk. “Notes? Some USB? A phone? Emails? Worms?”</p><p>“Pidge said it would likely be a container filled with powder.” Said Hunk. “That powder would be the parasite eggs. Probably white or yellow in colour. If we find something like that we need to take a sample back to Pidge for testing.”</p><p>“But what if it’s cocaine?” Asked Lance. “If it’s that then I want to keep it. Pidge might snort it herself if it’s drugs.”</p><p>“That’s just a risk you’re going to have to take.” Said Hunk.</p><p>The duo entered the building through a side door after Hunk opened it with a lockpick. The place reeked of animal blood. It wasn’t unpleasant, but Lance just knew it wasn’t human, so it was kind of disappointing. He would love to walk through a slaughterhouse filled with his favourite food. Then again Sendak’s human farm was probably the closest thing he could ever get to that. It was a nice dream, but at this point in time it was too unrealistic. Maybe someday in the future?</p><p>He and Hunk started to pick open the employee’s lockers. Lance didn’t really find much of note. He did find amusement at looking at some of the pictures. Several of families and pets. It was cute. He kind of wished his family were able to afford a family photo back when he was alive. He found a picture of a very pregnant woman in one of the lockers.</p><p>“... Hey Hunk, how are you and Shay doing?”</p><p>“She’s fine.” Said Hunk. “We’re good. We have a solid relationship…”</p><p>“But?”</p><p>“But she’s getting cravings.” Said Hunk. “I didn’t know that when a pregnant vampire gets hungry they crave more and more blood… And she will need at least a whole adult male’s worth of blood when the baby is born.”</p><p>“Is that because they kind of pop out of the womb with their own C-section?” Asked Lance as he continued to rummage around. “I don’t know much about vampire pregnancies, and I’m older than you.”</p><p>Hunk laughed a little at that statement. “Yeah. But I guess you’ve never been in love before?”</p><p>“I’ve been in lust before.” A smile made its way onto Lance’s face. “In fact, the other night I got my brain fucked out by Keith. Fucking mad man in bed. It was crazy.”</p><p>Hunk laughed again and continued looking through the lockers. “Yeah, casual sex is good, but it doesn’t compare to being with someone you love.”</p><p>“But can a vampire really love?” Asked Lance. “I mean, I’ve had sex with a lot of people and sex feels good. Who wants to be tied down to someone forever? We’re practically immortal.”</p><p>Hunk shrugged. “I do. I want to spend the rest of my eternal existence with Shay and the child she’s carrying. We care about each other… But she is talking about leaving the city. If this lead doesn’t pan out then…”</p><p>“Then she will leave?”</p><p>“Yeah…” Hunk sighed and finished looking at his section of lockers. “Okay, I have nothing here. Let’s try the manager’s office.”</p><p>Lance gave him the thumbs up and they headed up to the office. Lance looked through the safe. It was a small box, easy enough to crack open. He found some papers concerning a ghoul from the Nosferatu working as said manager at this place. Something he wasn’t too surprised by. But it was talking about places to send collected animal blood.</p><p>“I don’t have anything incriminating here. What about you?”</p><p>Hunk was currently on the ancient desktop and quickly looking through files. “Nothing incriminating. It’s all above board. I’m still going to clone the hard drive for Pidge to double check anyway.” Lance nodded and looked out the window. He hoped that Shiro and Keith were having better luck than they were.</p><p>***</p><p>Keith and Shiro ended up going to the Gein Plainfield abattoir. Both were extremely impressed by the design and look of the place. It was nice how humans had gotten better at keeping these kinds of places clean. They were used to finding tubs of rotten guts and other horrors around the place.</p><p>Before going to check the employee lockers they went about checking the main floor. The killing floor? They weren’t too sure what it was called. They looked at the bloodied hooks and the hunks of lamb caucasus strung up on said hooks. They had seen this kind of stuff many times before. It was a nice change of pace to see animal meat and not human meat.</p><p>They found a huge vat filled with dozens of interlocking teeth. It looked like some kind of mincer. Keith leaned in over the edge and sniffed. It smelled a little like human flesh, but it was mostly animal. It had to be pork. Pork had been the animal that they and cannibals found to be the most like human. It was an interesting thing. Keith would have thought that something like monkeys or apes would have been closer, but it was pigs.</p><p>“Find anything interesting?” Asked Shiro.</p><p>“It’s just a pork mincer.” Said Keith. He jumped down and sighed. “Guess we should go to the lockers?”</p><p>Shiro nodded in agreement and the duo started to head down, but paused when they heard what sounded like metal slamming, coming from the locker room. Both vampires approached with extreme caution. If it was a human they could knock them out at the very least, but if it was a ghoul or a vampire...</p><p>Shiro stood by the door and went to open it, when it was suddenly kicked open by a large wolf. It barreled out of the room with papers in its maw. The wolf wasn’t anthropomorphic like a typical werewolf. It was a Gangrel vampire.</p><p>Keith quickly sprung into action. He felt his own claws and fangs burst forth. He grabbed hold of the vampire and sunk his fangs into their thigh. The vampire yelped and kicked at Keith, pushing him off and quickly changing back into her more human form. </p><p>She had short hair and bright yellow eyes. She bore her fangs and panted heavily as she glared at them. After a few moments she seemed to calm down and retracted her fangs. “I assume you are Allura’s crack team of vampire investigators?”</p><p>“And who might you be?” Growled Keith as Shiro moved around to try and flank her. </p><p>“I am Krolia. I am working with Kolivan to investigate the tainted meat.” She said. “I have actually been working undercover to uncover the source since the beginning of this pandemic. I thought you two might have been vampires or ghouls coming to take me out.”</p><p>“Then I think we can work something out.” Said Shiro calmly. “What do you know?”</p><p>Krolia picked up some of the papers she had dropped earlier. “The Gangrel are the ones that have control of this abattoir.”</p><p>“So Zarkon is the source of the parasite?” Asked Shiro. </p><p>She shook her head. “It isn’t that simple. As far as I know Zarkon has no knowledge of this. Over the past few decades his grip on his clan has started to waver. He has become more recluse and those closest to him know it.” She handed Shiro a piece of paper with a name circled on it. “Bo Buman is a ghoul that was secretly sired by Haxus.”</p><p>“What do you mean secretly?” Asked Keith. “Is there some kind of registry here or something?”</p><p>“Yes.” Said Krolia calmly. “In this city we keep a close eye on the ghouls. We can’t have too many out and about. The same way we can’t sire vampires all the time. If we did then there would be too many of us here and we would threaten the masquerade. Bo is unregistered and that can only mean that there is something going on. Haxus is close with Sendak, and Sendak was the one that ran that human farm.”</p><p>“So you believe that Sendak is behind all this?” Asked Shiro.</p><p>Krolia nodded. “Yes. Bo is in charge of the mince meat production. He adds the spices to it. Things like salt, pepper, msg... It wouldn’t be difficult for him to add a handful of parasite eggs to the spice blend. Tainting the meat and threatening the masquerade.”</p><p>Keith frowned. “So, if you believe Sendak is the one behind it all, why would he even want to have the masquerade ruined?”</p><p>She shrugged. “I am unsure. Sendak is an ancient vampire. From the Iron age. All we really know is that Zarkon is his sire. One of the first vampires that Zarkon sired. There is no information on where he came from other than Europe somewhere, like Zarkon.”</p><p>As she talked Keith couldn’t help but feel that they were being watched by someone. He wasn’t sure if the others felt it too. He just kept his mouth shut for the moment. “So you think this is definitely Sendak’s fault?” </p><p>“Yes. Haxus wouldn’t do anything without Senda’s approval.” Said Krolia. “There are no parasite eggs here at the moment. I can only assume that they ran out and are waiting for more to come in.” That feeling of being watched quickly faded away, leaving Keith confused. He had no idea why he felt like he was being watched. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn’t. He didn’t know.</p><p>***</p><p>Ezor quickly slipped back into the club. She and the others had been looking for any information on anything that could help save Narti, but at this point it was too late. She walked back down to the basement where Lotor was with Narti. She didn’t look like a vampire anymore. She looked more like a mummified corpse that just refused to die. She made a wheezing sound as her chest moved. She wasn’t Narti anymore.</p><p>Lotor sat in a chair across from her. He was playing with a revolver. Taking the bullets out and putting them back in. “Did you find out anything?”</p><p>“Yeah…” Muttered Ezor. “I was at the Gein Plainfield abattoir. Allura’s henchmen were there along with one of Kolivan’s people. Apparently Sendak is the mastermind behind everything, not your father. Still no idea why he is doing this or even how he’s even able to do it…”</p><p>“I believe he is working with Haggar.” Muttered Lotor. “That conniving bitch does everything in her power to just attack people for the hell of it… Is there a possible cure for it?”</p><p>“Still nothing on that front…” Ezor gave Narti a concerned look. “She… She’s not going to make it, is she?”</p><p>“She’s already gone.” He put the last bullet in the chamber and walked over to Narti, pressing the barrel against her head. “I’m sorry Narti… This is the least I can do for you.” He pulled the trigger, blasting her brain and skull all over the ground. Moments later her body turned to ashes, leaving no trace of her flesh or the parasites that infected her.</p><p>Ezor turned away and tried to hold back her tears, but they quickly overflowed and spilled down her face. Narti might have been quiet, but she had been with them for a long time. Half breed vampires like them had to stick together. They shouldn’t be killing each other. There were so few of them in existence already.</p><p>Lotor walked over to her and put his hand on her shoulder. “Ezor, please don’t cry over Narti. She wouldn’t want you to waste blood during a time like this. She wouldn’t want you to lose precious blood over her… When Zethrid and Acxa get back we have two vampires in need of a second death.”</p><p>“But isn’t Haggar technically also Honerva?” Asked Ezor as she attempted to stop herself from crying. “If we kill Haggar then your mother…”</p><p>“She deserves to rest too.” He said. “Consider it a mercy killing.” He looked back at the ash and bone that was once Narti. “... Get Acxa to organize an urn for her. It is the least we can do for her now.”</p>
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<a name="section0024"><h2>24. Scarlet</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Okay! First and only warning, this chapter contains a semi graphic vampire birth. In this universe, vampire births are all C sections... That the babies perform themselves... Belly bursters... Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sendak frowned a little to himself as he slowly turned his UV torch around in his hands. Things were going so, so well. If everything played out correctly then everything would turn out just how he wanted. He had been around since the beginning of the birth of vampires. He had lived in a small tribe and worked as a hunter. He had taken a woman as a wife, though he didn’t remember much about her other than he had her and how her blood tasted as it ran down his throat.</p><p>Yes, Zarkon had invaded his tribe and sired him along with a few others from his tribe. Those vampires had long since died due to stupid mistakes. But Sendak lived on. He always lived on. Sendak had originally considered that he was just blessed. Then later, with the development of science, he believed he was a better candidate for the gangrel strain of vampirism.</p><p>As he continued to live he did truely start to believe that. After all, these newer generations of vampires were impure and clearly grotesque compared to the first fw generations. However those older vampires eventually would succumb to unfortunate ends. Mostly death by vampire hunters. A noble death, but very unfortunate.</p><p>But then again with the ways that things were going the older vampires were losing their way. It all started with Alfor. He wanted to abandon the old ways. He wanted to leave the castles and lavished secluded lifestyles behind. He wanted to make a kingdom where vampires could seamlessly walk among the humans. A disgusting and stupid idea. It cultivated weak vampires that couldn’t hunt.</p><p>Then Zarkon tried and failed to take the kingdom for himself, but failed. Then he never tried again. All his bite was gone. It infuriated him along with Haggar. A vampire plagued with a different strain of vampirism. Her madness made her switch between the loving and doting wife of Zarkon, Honerva, and the hell bitch that wanted to strengthen vampires again.</p><p>In hindsight it seemed as though once Alfor died so did Zarkon’s will to fight. He was an old wounded animal that no longer had their enemy to fight. They had the kingdom and could easily topple the current monarch since all other clan leaders seemed indifferent about ruling over all clans. But no. He was weak. He just wanted to exist.</p><p>If Zarkon or the other clan leaders had become lazy in their older years then Sendak would take control. He would seize the opportunity and cast out those lazy and unworthy leeches that dared called themselves vampires. They deserved nothing in this second life.</p><p>He would take them down. He would destroy them. He would end them all down and give them a much more pathetic second death that they cowered away from like a pathetic human. A pathetic cattle. Livestock. Maggots to be trodden on under foot.</p><p>But vampires as they stood now were weak. Even if he, a gangrel created from one of the first gangrel vampires, sired more himself, he felt that they would be impure. They weren’t perfect enough. His bloodline would eventually become as diluted as it was now. Vampires needed to change and evolve. Adapt or die and these lazy fuckers were dying.</p><p>Sendak knew how he would create a new generation of vampires, vampires that do become much more than their lazy ancestors. They would become something much more. True gods among the mortals. The real and true apex predators. They would finally subjugate the humans back to their proper place, under the foot of a vampire, like they had been before the age of man and science. </p><p>There was a knock on his door and he put his torch away. “Come in.”</p><p>Haxus walked into his office, smiling slightly. “Hey Sendak. So we need some more of those eggs… Bo ran out of them the other day.”</p><p>“It doesn’t matter.” Said Sendak. “Bo has served his purpose. We don’t need that ghoul anymore. Get rid of them.”</p><p>The other vampire seemed surprised. “Really? We’ve only had him around for a few years… Not even a decade...”</p><p>“Are you questioning me?” Growled Sendak.</p><p>Haxus quickly shook his head. “Of course not. It just seems like a shame to get rid of a ghoul so quickly…”</p><p>“He’s an unregistered ghoul and a liability. Kill him.”</p><p>The other vampire sighed but nodded. “Yeah, sure… Still a waste.” He left the room to carry out his task.</p><p>Sendak sighed in annoyance. Haxus was one of the first and only vampires he had sired. It had been several decades after he had turned himself, and the younger vampire was always eager to prove himself to him. Sendak had played with him a few times in the early days. He had sent Haxus out to murder villages by himself or powerful human beings.</p><p>The only time he was mildly disappointed with Haxus was when he tole Haxus to slaughter a druid family, or at least some family that was well more versed in magic than other people in the area. Haxus slaughtered the parents, but the children were gone.</p><p>Imagine his surprise centuries later when he found the children under Ryner’s care? It was an effort not to laugh his head off during their meeting. Haxus looked extremely shocked that the children were now vampires. It was interesting to watch those children grow up as creatures of the night. As all vampires they all physically stayed the same age, but their eyes were empty, dark, and practically voids. A complete loss of innocence.</p><p>He loved the drama. The life of a vampire was nothing more than one tragedy after another. A violent existence that started in blood, was soaked in blood, and would end in nothing more than a bloody heap. A Greek tragedy. An old fashioned opera.</p><p>He picked up his UV torch again and flicked it on, pointing it at the wall. With all things being equal, the age of the old vampires would be extinguished in a month or two and a new generation would emerge. A smarter, faster, stronger breed.</p><p>As he daydreamed about this the torch slipped out of his fingers and the UV beam flipped around. The light quickly flashed across his face and hands. He flinched a little when the light hit him in the eye. He blinked a few times to get the spots out of his eyes, but apart from the temporary blindness, he was perfectly unscathed. He frowned and put it away. He couldn’t let other vampires know that he was immune to UV radiation.</p><p>***</p><p>After Krolia’s talk with Shiro and Keith, the trio made their way back down to the Nosfuratu’s base. The sun was starting to come up and none of them wanted to get caught in the sun. When the trio got there, it was utter chaos.</p><p>Nosferatu were running around and freaking out carrying bags of blood. Even Lance was running around with a cooler full of the stuff. As soon as he spotted them he ran towards them. “Omg! Thank fuck you are still here! Who the fuck are you?”</p><p>“I’m Krolia.” Said Krolia.</p><p>“Okay, whatever. Help me get blood damn it!”</p><p>“Why? What’s the problem?” Asked Shiro.</p><p>“It’s Shay! She’s about to pop!” Said Lance in a panic. “She’s been gorging on blood for a few days and really bloated and now she says it feels like her insides are on fire and she’s spewing blood!”</p><p>“Are you sure she’s not infected?!” Asked Keith in shock.</p><p>Lance shook his head. “No. Shay’s mama said she’s about to give birth. Shay’s a vampire by birth and her mama knows how this goes.”</p><p>Krolia chuckled a little. Vampire births were very rare and very, very bloody. A whole human was needed to replenish the blood that would be lost during a birth. While the boys and other vampires were freaking out, Krolia wandered away from them and headed in to see Shay. </p><p>It was easy to find where she was. Blood curdling shrieks rang out. Like a wounded animal that got their stomach slit. She peeked into one of the dug out rooms to see the Nosferatu woman writhing on a dirty mattress, covered in a semi clean blanket. Blood was pouring out of her mouth and, judging by the dark blood pooling around her other end, probably out her vagina too.</p><p>A vampire, clearly not from her clan, was sitting next to her and holding her hand while the Nosferatu clawed into his arm. Possibly the father? Everyone in the room didn’t seem to know what to do bar one. An older Nosferatu woman who was gently rubbing circles into the younger’s bloated stomach.</p><p>She walked in and kneeled down on the other side of the pregnant vampire, who she assumed was Shay, and helped the other vampire rub the other’s stomach. “Shhhhhh…” She said soothingly. “It’s okay dear. Just deep breaths.”</p><p>“Who are you?” Asked some of the other vampires.</p><p>She sighed a little and continued to rub Shay’s stomach. “My name is Krolia. I came here with Shiro and Keith. We can talk later after this.”</p><p>“You’ve had children before?” Asked the older female Vampire, also rubbing Shay’s stomach.</p><p>Krolia chuckled and lifted up her shirt, showing off a dark pink scar that almost looked like a starburst or a spider’s web. “He was quite a belly burster.”</p><p>The other vampire visibly relaxed and nodded. “Good. Help me remove her pants.”</p><p>Shay screeched something about her brother and father getting the fuck out of the room, which they quickly did to get more blood packs. Krolia noted the blood packs piled near the window. Possibly dropped in by other vampires that didn’t want to get attacked by a raging, hormonal, pregnant vampire.</p><p>“HUNK!” She screeched.</p><p>“Y-yes?” Stuttered Hunk. </p><p>“I swear to the ancient vampires that if you put another baby in me… I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU!”</p><p>“U-understood!” He whimpered as Shay’s claws sunk down to the bone.</p><p>This all felt so nostalgic to Krolia. It reminded her of when she was due to give birth to her son. Life and her after life had been strange, yet surprisingly forgiving to her. Despite the death and massaccar of her family when she was still human, she survived.</p><p>She had lived a hundred years in self imposed exile, eating only animals and only consumed humans when the hunger was too strong. The only man she had ever loved then entered her life. Hard to believe he was originally a demon slayer.</p><p>Things had quickly changed since then and she actually accompanied him in his demon slaying business. It was inevitable that she would fall in love with him and he with her. They had given into temptation many, many times and had resulted in what they had considered an unholy miracle. Neither believed a vampire could get pregnant therefore a miracle. Yet neither of them knew what monster was growing within her, therefore unholy.</p><p>Neither of them really knew what to do and were able to seek out scrolls to get some kind of answer as to what they had created. They didn’t know exactly what was growing inside her, but they knew it would need a lot of blood... Animal blood just wouldn’t suffice… Both knew that since they were traveling so often there was only one readily available source of blood that Krolia could feed on when the time came...</p><p>“I’M GOING TO FUCKING KILL YOU!” Screeched Shay as dark, almost black blood gushed out of her mouth.</p><p>“She’s bruising!” Said Shay’s mum excitedly.</p><p>Krolia quickly shook herself out of her nostalgia fog and looked down at Shay’s belly. A dark purple bruise was quickly forming on her stomach. Shay let out a blood curdling screech as the sound of skin ripping filled the room. A small baby was sitting and crying in the middle of Shay’s bloody guts.</p><p>Hunk was quickly shoving blood packs into Shay’s mouth while her mother removed the infant, smiling. “Congratulations. It’s a girl.”</p><p>The mood in the room instantly lifted and Krolia chuckled a little to herself while she very carefully put her organs back in place and pressed the skin back. When the bloody skin connected it quickly started to knit together. Within a minute Shay’s stomach was covered in dark purple scars.</p><p>Krolia started to lightly mop up some of the blood while she glanced up at Shay, Hunk, and their new baby girl. Sure Shay looked like a bloody crime scene, but it was a happy scene. Her holding her baby while Hunk sat behind her and gently brushed some blood off his lover’s cheek and baby. The baby was still crying and whining but they looked happy.</p><p>Lance looked in through the window. “The screaming stopped. Is everything okay?”</p><p>“It’s a girl.” Said Hunk.</p><p>“Awesome! What’s her name?”</p><p>Hunk looked down at Shay and smiled warmly at her. Shay just nodded at him and turned her attention back to her baby. He gently ran his fingers through Shay’s hair. “Scarlet. Her name is Scarlet.”</p><p>Krolia was happy for them. It was always wonderful to see the miracle of childbirth still came through for them. Even for vampires and during the middle of their pandemic. It warmed her supposedly long deceased. But they would soon have to face reality again. They needed to find, and destroy the source of the parasite eggs. Then murder the vampire that started this plague in the first place.</p>
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<a name="section0025"><h2>25. Miscellaneous pieces</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Pieces are starting to fall into place, but they are still missing a lot of the pieces. Kudos and comment when you can. Enjoy :D</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Little baby Scarlet was immediately beloved within the Nosferatu clan. Hunk absolutely adored her, but was concerned as to why she didn’t look at all like Shay. Her mother said something about the Nosferatu changing their appearance with time. They didn’t automatically look all disfigured after one bite. It took decades for their appearances to shift.</p><p>Still, Hunk was happy, Shay was happy, and their baby was safe. They were a somewhat happy family now. All he had to do was wrap up this case and get Allura’s approval. If he got her approval then they would be safe. </p><p>Scarlet cried and Shay gently rocked her to calm her down. “It’s okay.” Cooed Shay. “It’s… Wait… Hey Hunk, do you know what baby vampires drink? I’m pretty sure it’s blood…”</p><p>“Probably. You’ll need to ask your mother though.”</p><p>“Yeah…” She yawned and cuddled Scarlet close against her breast. The baby squirmed a little before she gave up and just fell asleep. “I think I’m just going to take a nap now…”</p><p>“That’s good.” Hunk kissed Shay and the top of their little girl’s head. “Are you okay with me going now?”</p><p>“Of course. Figure out what is happening. Secure Scarlet’s future.” She squeezed his hand one more time and Hunk left her. Her mother was quickly back by her side. She was in good hands.</p><p>Dick grinned and patted Hunk on the back. “I’d offer you a cigar to celebrate, but the box cracked and the water got to it. Shay’s doing okay?”</p><p>“I think so. She knows you guys will help with Scarlet.”</p><p>“Yeah. Go and talk to your friends.”</p><p>Hunk nodded and walked over towards Lance, Shiro, Keith, and that new vampire that helped Shay give birth. “Thank you for helping Shay.” He said to her.</p><p>The woman nodded. “My pleasure. Vampire births are a rare occasion and should be cause for celebration. Even if they are out of clans…”</p><p>Hunk sighed and shook his head. “We’re working on the whole making it legal.”</p><p>Lance cleared his throat. “Okay, anyway, moving along now… We really should get back to Allura about the information we found.”</p><p>“We?” Questioned Keith.</p><p>“It was a team effort.”</p><p>Hunk nodded in agreement. “Yeah, I guess I should update Allura on my situation with Shay…” He was a little worried that Allura might get outraged that his child was born before he was able to help solve this disease problem. </p><p>“Well we should go and talk to her.” Said Lance. “I have no reception down here anyway.”</p><p>***</p><p>The group ended up back at Allura’s penthouse and explained the situation. Allura was shocked that Shay had given birth so soon. She had expected her to give birth in a few months. Her leverage against Hunk had weakened a little. Something she didn’t want. She would need to find a way to keep Hunk under her thumb for the moment.</p><p>“That’s wonderful news.” She said with a smile. “I would like to extend a formal invitation to Shay and her baby to stay here. I believe it would be best for their protection from other clans, or even from her own clan. Dick might be able to provide her with some protection, but there are plenty of vampires that wish to exterminate mixed clan vampires. Weakens the bloodlines and all that.”</p><p>Hunk looked very unsure and worried. “I um…”</p><p>“I’m going to call Dick later and have a meeting with him tomorrow about moving her and his granddaughter here… Hunk, I still intend to keep my promise to you.”</p><p>“... Okay… It’s her decision if she wants to be here…”</p><p>Allura nodded and looked at Krolia. “So, you can confirm that the parasite is coming from Zarkon’s clan, but he has no idea what is happening?”</p><p>“That is the consensus.” Said Krolia calmly. “I believe that Sendak is the mastermind behind all this. We should confront the unregistered ghoul in their possession. The sooner we do that then the sooner we can get information out of him.”</p><p>“Agreed.” Allura thought for a moment. “Please go and find this ghoul. After you have, can you please inform me? I wish to speak to them immediately.”</p><p>Krolia nodded. “Of course. I would have assumed that you wanted to see them anyway.”</p><p>“Thank you. Now I suggest you all head home. The sun should be rising soon and none of you want to be caught out in the sun.”</p><p>Everyone agreed and they left. When they were gone Allura sat down on her couch and glared at the wall. She had so many things she needed to do now. She needed to get a room ready for Shay and her baby, figure out a way to sneak her in so as to not freak out the receptionist in staff, and then there was the Sendak thing.</p><p>Allura didn’t know too much about Sendak. Just that he was one of the first vampires that Zarkon sired. She snapped her fingers. “Coran, call Ryner and tell her to bring me a tome on the Gangrel history. Anything outlining the hierarchy, and information on the leaders in that clan. Then call Dick and request a face to face talk at Aspen park by the dolphin statue. Then get the guest room ready for Shay and Scarlet.”</p><p>Coran bowed and quickly took out his phone. “Of course. May I ask Ryner how her progress is going with finding a cure to this parasite?”</p><p>She shook her head. “Much too soon. Give it a few more days… We still need to figure out where they are breeding these creatures. Once we have that then we will have ample proof and be able to make a proper judgement. Then I can justify a mass culling of the Gangrel Perhaps even wipe them out?”</p><p>Coran hesitated at that statement. “That seems a little extreme…”</p><p>“Well yes… I mean, I would get rid of those Gangrel loyal to Zarkon. The ones loyal to Kolivan have proved to still be a strong ally so far. If they continue to be useful to me then I see no reason to completely get rid of them.”</p><p>“Well said.” Said Coran. He walked out of the room to make the phone calls Allura requested.</p><p>When he was gone Allura wracked her brain to try and figure out why Sendak would betray the masquerade. Sendak was an old vampire and would therefore know how important the masquerade was. He would have been there at the council meetings where they had thoroughly discussed where the vampires would go around the end of the medieval period. They all unanimously decided to institute the law known as the Masquerade.</p><p>The Masquerade was cemented as law to make sure that vampires could live their undead lives without trouble while being able to feed freely on the human population. If humans found out about them then humans could slaughter them all. Humans had become smarter and less superstitious. Many saw the writing on the wall with intellectuals from the Middle East visiting the intellectually inept Europeans of the day.</p><p>Humanity had only advanced more and more since that time. If there was one thing humans were extremely good at it was killing each other. During both world wars the vampires stayed out of it. It was petty human drama in their eyes. A few vampires had been turned during that time on both sides, but that was about it.</p><p>Exposing the masquerade was a death sentence for everyone. Sendak would know this and understand it. He had been a huge enforcer of this rule back when it first came out. All vampires would get one warning when the ruling was first rolled out. After that they would be executed. Sendak was extremely good at that.</p><p>Maybe that was his reasoning? There had been no massive conflict within the Vampire community for centuries. Not since her father had been killed. Did he want someone to break the masquerade just to kill those who broke it because he was bored? Sure, being alive for so long could and has led to boredom, depression and melancholy in many older vampires, Allura was not immune to that, but to insight a war was ridiculous.</p><p>Still, she didn’t know if she could put it past Sendak not being so petty. He seemed like a very petty man from her few interactions with him. She needed to figure out the best way to approach him. Maybe she should get Lance to come with her when she confronts him? If he wasn’t interested in women then Lance was always there to lend a helping hand, or mouth, or anything else to sweeten a deal.</p><p>“The calls have been made.” Said Coran happily as he walked back into the room. “Shall I start fixing up the guest room for our new arrivals?”</p><p>“Please do.”</p><p>***</p><p>Krolia quickly left the group once they had left Allura’s home. She needed to report back to Kolivan and find this Bo ghoul. The men said goodbye to her and then it was just them. Hunk also took his leave to get back to Shay and their baby. The others understood and he left.</p><p>Lance sighed loudly and threw his head back. “Man, tonight was so damn stressful…”</p><p>“You hardly did anything.” Said Keith.</p><p>Lance gasped in shock. “What?!”</p><p>“We actually had a fight.” Said Keith. “You did fuck all.”</p><p>Lance pouted. “Rude.”</p><p>Shiro just chuckled and patted Keith’s back. “Well, I think it’s time we all head on home. The sun is coming up and we don’t want to get caught out in the sun.”</p><p>“Fine… See you two tomorrow.” Said Lance. He waved goodbye to the other two vampires and started to walk home. He kind of hoped that Keith and Shiro might want to hang out a little after visiting Allura’s place. </p><p>Lance wasn’t really sure why. This was probably because it was one of the first times in a long time that he was able to interact with someone consistently for so long. The last time Lance had been in constant contact with someone was a pretty looking human. They were an opera singer. Very pretty, very sexy. But after some interesting nights together she left him for a normal man. Which was fine. They were both humans and should be together anyway.</p><p>He had enjoyed being with Keith, more than just having sex with him. Keith was a grouchy old vampire, but he was fun and interesting. Lance liked messing with him and provoking him. He was a very cute kind of vampire, and as a vampire he could stay around longer than a few months. If he wanted to. </p><p>Lance sighed and walked through the halls of his home. He looked into a room and saw Nyma and Plaxum drinking blood from a man that had white powder all over his nose. He looked down at the coffee table and saw lines of what he could only assume was cocaine there.</p><p>He wasn’t surprised. Nyma’s way of getting blood straight from a human source was to seduce and subdue with as many drugs as possible. She loved the buzz that came with drug infused blood. She would sometimes let others feed off her humans when she brought them back. Tonight was no different.</p><p>“Successful hunt?” He asked her.</p><p>Nyma removed her mouth from their neck and grinned. “Of course. Nothing is sweeter than the taste of cocaine infused blood. Want some?”</p><p>“Nah, I’ll pass.” Said Lance. “I want to get a good day’s sleep.”</p><p>She shrugged. “Suit yourself… I think he’s reached his limit anyway.” She snapped her fingers. Rolo, her ghoul walked over to them with a first aid kit and started to bandage up the humans wounds. “Take him to a spare room and make sure he gets the fuck out in the morning.”</p><p>“Sure.” Said Rolo as he bandaged his wounds.</p><p>Plaxum wiped the blood off her lips. “Want some company in your bed Lance?”</p><p>“Nah, I’m good for now. Have fun with your food.” He walked up to his room and made sure that the curtains were completely closed. He then sighed and fell back onto his bed. He genuinely missed hanging out with Keith. He didn’t know what Allura would have him do the next night, but if she had nothing for him to do, he might call up Keith. If Keith didn’t want to hang out with him he might hang out with Pidge. It was better than nothing.</p>
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